Catalyst has completed phase one of its redevelopment of the Littlemore Park NHS site in Oxford that will deliver a total of 270 new homes over four phases.
Phase one of the Newman Place development at Littlemore Park topped out this month and will deliver 102 homes that will be available later this year.
Catalyst, working with delivery partners Hill, will deliver a further 168 homes over the remaining three phases with the project due to complete in summer 2023.
Newman Place is a 100% affordable development and is located less than four miles from Oxford City Centre.
It brings 108 new homes for social rent and 162 for shared ownership, with priority purchase options for NHS key workers.
In partnership with Oxford City Council, Catalyst says it is building new homes for social rent that meet the needs of those on the council’s housing register, including 14 wheelchair-accessible homes and a five-bedroom family home.
The shared ownership homes enable people to take the first step to homeownership in Oxford, which is the least affordable place outside London for first-time buyers, with average house prices over 17 times the average salary in the city.
Newman Place is landscape-led and sustainable and biodiverse in design.
Catalyst says the development respects, reflects, and enriches the area’s heritage as the former site of Littlemore Park hospital since 1846.
Its design blends ‘old and new’, with bricks and local stone chosen to blend with the neighbouring Grade 2 listed Georgian manor, and a ‘campus’ feel to the park reflecting Oxford’s academic heritage and the adjoining Oxford Science Park.
Catalyst is also creating and landscaping footpaths, cycleways, and seating areas alongside Littlemore Brook and connecting with the science park and restoring an area of copse.
The development will also have a play area made from natural materials, two hibernacula for local wildlife, community allotments, and public art marking the site’s heritage.
Joe Marshall, managing director of New Homes (Counties) at Catalyst, said: “I’m delighted to announce this first major milestone in the construction of Newman Place, Oxford.
“Newman Place not only brings much-needed affordable new homes for people on the city’s waiting list but gives many first-time buyers, including NHS workers to whom we’ve given priority purchase options, the chance to get on the property ladder in an area where they’d normally be priced-out.
“We’re respecting and reflecting the site’s heritage, biodiversity and natural landscape, building sustainable homes with future-ready infrastructure that meet local housing needs.
“Catalyst has over 2,000 homes in Oxfordshire, a strong relationship with Oxford City Council and a strategy to build hundreds of new homes across the Arc, making us ideally placed to further invest in affordable housing in Oxford.”
Ryan Harris, regional director at Hill Group, said: “We are delighted to celebrate this important step in the delivery of Littlemore Park, which we are constructing on behalf of Catalyst and Oxford City Council.
“Holding a traditional topping out ceremony is symbolic in the timeline of the development and a celebration of the hard work and commitment that has got us to this stage.
“Once complete, Newman Place will bring much-needed affordable homes to the city for first-time buyers and our highly valued NHS workers.
“At Hill, we are committed to providing sustainable communities and landscape-led developments with high-quality homes and green open space and Littlemore Park will deliver an outstanding development for current and future generations.”
Catalyst is one of the largest housing associations in London and the south-east of England, managing nearly 37,000 homes for social and affordable rent and shared ownership.
Read next: GreenSquareAccord transforms former office site in Bilston into affordable homes
Are you a social housing professional? Sign up for a FREE MEMBERSHIP to upload news stories, post job vacancies, and connect with colleagues on our secure social feed.