The ambitious regeneration of Marwood Towers in Everton has landed a prestigious UK housing award.
Unveiled in January 2017, Marwood Towers was the first scheme delivered by the Liverpool Housing Partnership (LHP) – a ground-breaking consortia approach to public-private housing delivery that consists of Liverpool City Council, Liverpool Mutual Homes, Willmott Partnership Homes and Redrow Homes.
The award of Best Partnering Scheme at the national Housing Excellence Awards, which took place in Manchester, recognised this innovative joint approach which sees receipts from land sales to Redrow ring-fenced and reinvested by the city council into affordable housing by LMH.
LMH’s £8.5 million Marwood Towers’ redevelopment project, which is adjacent to the Project Jennifer regeneration scheme, has transformed a landmark building into high-quality modern apartments, including specialist accommodation for over-55s.
LHP member Willmott Partnership Homes – part of Willmott Dixon – delivered a complete refurbishment of the original 57 flats and constructed a two-storey additional wing comprising 24 apartments.
As well as Marwood Towers, the consortia aims to create a minimum of 1,500 new homes and bring 1,000 more back into use, equivalent to a £205 million investment over the next five years.
The scheme also has a potential for a further £200 million of developments providing work for up to 6,450 people through direct and on-site employment and throughout the supply chain.
Willmott Partnership Homes’ Operations Director, Stuart Belfield, explains, “We are delighted that our innovative consortia approach, which is the first of its kind across the UK, has won a top national award.
“The project focused on giving an outdated building a sensitive 21st century makeover and creating high-quality modern living for Liverpool.”
Liverpool Mutual Homes Chief Executive, Steve Coffey, said, “Marwood Towers is a great example of how we are delivering significant regeneration projects across Liverpool under the LHP partnership, to help address the city’s shortage of high-quality affordable homes.”
Nick Flanagan, Head of Property & Assets at Liverpool City Council, added, “We are committed to providing thousands of affordable quality homes for families right across Liverpool and this innovative partnership is fundamental to making that a success.
“It’s great to receive national recognition within the industry as it underlines how the public and private sector in Liverpool are able to come together to tackle long term housing issues by creating new solutions that delivers results.”
