Britannia has secured £10 million for its development at a former probation centre site in South Manchester. The financing includes a £9.5 million development loan from specialist lender Together and £650,000 from the Greater Manchester Combined Authority’s Brownfield Housing Fund.

Initial works have started on the Daisy Bank Road site in Victoria Park, with main contractor Short Construction set to begin later this month. The first homes are expected to be completed by next summer, with some offered to key workers at 80% of market value.

Nick Carter, development director at Britannia Group, highlighted the importance of the funding in transforming the brownfield site into much-needed new homes.

Ian Pickering, director of development funding at Together, expressed delight in supporting the development, emphasising the role of SME developers in addressing the housing shortage.

The project will feature an apartment block on the corner of Daisy Bank Road and Laindon Road, with townhouses to the west of the 1.6-acre site. The main apartment block will include 23 one-bedroom flats and 14 two-bedroom flats. The remaining units will consist of 15 three-bed and 15 four-bed townhouses, two one-bed flats, two two-bed flats, and a six-bed house.

Cllr Ged Cooney, GMCA portfolio lead for housing, noted that the Brownfield Housing Fund continues to unlock sites across Greater Manchester, delivering much-needed homes in high-demand areas.

The project team includes Roger Hannah, Ollier Smurthwaite Architects, Avison Young, Trevor Bridge Associates, Curtins, The LK Group, BWB, Crookes Walker Consulting, OFR Consultants, Hann Tucker, and GIA.