Housebuilder and quango have signed development agreement to deliver 700 homes on Basildon site

Listed SME housebuilder Inland Homes has been given the green light to build 700 homes on a site in Basildon majority owned by housing quango Homes England.

The pair submitted a joint application for the Gardiners Park Village site last year, and Inland said it had now received resolution to grant permission from Basildon Council – subject to signing a Section 106 deal – for the £200m scheme.

Gardiners' Park Basildon Inland the_burnham_CGI

Inland entered into a development agreement with Homes England regarding the 54-acre site in April last year, and said it now expected to be able to start work on site before September.

It said that 220 of the 700 homes will be affordable, with space left for a new school and sporting facilities to be provided.

Inland chief executive Stephen Wicks said he was very pleased to have secured planning permission and be working with Homes England to deliver the homes. He said: “Acquiring and taking brownfield sites through the planning system for development lies at the heart of what we do.

“Inland Homes has once again demonstrated its skill and tenacity in being able to deliver planning on these complex sites in order to create sustainable communities and homes for the future.”

Buckinghamshire-based Inland recorded a pre-tax profit of £3.7m for the covid-affected year to September 2020, on revenue of £124m.