News

Crest parachutes in for £1bn Wyton scheme

News

Alex Horne

14 November 2014

Residential

Cambridgeshire, East of England, England

Crest Nicholson has outgunned some of Britain’s biggest housebuilders to secure a lucrative development partnership with the Ministry of Defence.

The FTSE 250 housebuilder has been appointed as development manager by the Defence Infrastructure Organisation for the £1bn redevelopment of the 617-acre Wyton Airfield in Cambridgeshire.

The site, next to RAF Wyton, has the potential for up to 4,500 homes and more than 30 acres of commercial development.

Crest was selected ahead of rival bidders Barratt and VSM – a joint venture between Vinci and St Modwen – with a pledge to retain a portion of the homes for private rent at the heart of its bid.

It believes that retaining a portion of the scheme for PRS – expected to be as many as 500 homes – will allow it to bring forward the scheme more quickly without oversupplying the local housing market.

Group director of new business Scott Black said the likely absorption rate for private sales from the site was in the region of 200 homes pa.

But by building PRS homes and allocating a similar portion of the site for MoD housing, the developer could bring forward up to 300 homes per year, helping unlock the commercial and community facilities that would be vital to support the earlier phases of the scheme, he said.

As development manager Crest will fund, manage and lead the development on behalf of the DIO in return for a share of the profits from the scheme.

It will build as many as 35% of the homes on the site itself, preparing the remaining parcels of land for sale to other housebuilders.

It also has the option to develop the entire commercial element of the scheme.

Wyton Airfield is 18 miles from Cambridge city centre and 20 miles south-east of Peterborough.

While the airfield will shortly be vacated to make way for the development, the RAF base is still in use and is expected to grow substantially over the coming years.

Crest hopes the growth of intelligence operations at the base will help support the development of as much as 33 acres of employment space at the site.

A planning application is expected to be submitted by the end of next year, with a start on site for the 20-year -project anticipated in the spring of 2017.

GVA advised the DIO on the process.

Crest Nicholson has outgunned some of Britain’s biggest housebuilders to secure a lucrative development partnership with the Ministry of Defence. The FTSE 250 housebuilder has been appointed as development manager by the Defence Infrastructure Organisation for the £1bn redevelopment of the 617-acre Wyton Airfield in Cambridgeshire. The site, next to RAF Wyton, has the potential for up to 4,500 homes and more than 30 acres of commercial development. Crest was selected ahead of rival bidders Barratt and VSM – a joint venture between Vinci and St Modwen – with a pledge to retain a portion of the homes for private rent at the heart of its bid. It believes that retaining a portion of the scheme for PRS – expected to be as many as 500 homes – will allow it to bring forward the scheme more quickly without oversupplying the local housing market. Group director of new business Scott Black said the likely absorption rate for private sales from the site was in the region of 200 homes pa. But by building PRS homes and allocating a similar portion of the site for MoD housing, the developer could bring forward up to 300 homes per year, helping unlock the commercial and community facilities that would be vital to support the earlier phases of the scheme, he said. As development manager Crest will fund, manage and lead the development on behalf of the DIO in return for a share of the profits from the scheme. It will build as many as 35% of the homes on the site itself, preparing the remaining parcels of land for sale to other housebuilders. It also has the option to develop the entire commercial element of the scheme. Wyton Airfield is 18 miles from Cambridge city centre and 20 miles south-east of Peterborough. While the airfield will shortly be vacated to make way for the development, the RAF base is still in use and is expected to grow substantially over the coming years. Crest hopes the growth of intelligence operations at the base will help support the development of as much as 33 acres of employment space at the site. A planning application is expected to be submitted by the end of next year, with a start on site for the 20-year -project anticipated in the spring of 2017. GVA advised the DIO on the process.