Working in a variety of capacities including Employers Agent, Cost Consultant and Principal Designer, the team has worked across locations to support the development of private, shared ownership and affordable housing for a number of clients in Filey, Scarborough, Spalding Moor and Wakefield, totalling £54.1 million.
Recent trends
The pandemic threw up both challenges and opportunities in the residential sector. The extension to stamp duty and help to buy deadlines created a gold rush for properties which resulted in soaring demand for new build houses. Whilst this was an opportunity for the industry, it also placed a strain on resources both human and material.
Indeed, with the fluctuating nature of lockdowns and the difficulties faced by trading and supply chains, materials became scarce and expensive.
What this meant for the residential sector was that housing had to be delivered with tighter cost controls without losing quality.
Summers-Inman’s wide-ranging support
The Summers-Inman team was employed as Employers Agent and Cost Consultants across a variety of schemes, ranging from 32 to 114 units for some of the region’s foremost residential developers and registered providers.
Recent development projects- Filey and Seamer
In a recent development at Mill Meadows, Filey, Summers-Inman won a competitive tender based on quality and value to provide Employers Agent and Cost Management services for 113 units of two, three and four-bed residential houses.
The £16 million scheme is the final phase of a family-friendly scheme on the edge of the North Yorkshire coastal town of Filey. The work is due to take place over a three-year programme. Summers-Inman was appointed in September 2019 for preliminary work and is currently working in close partnership with the client and contractor on the first two phases.
The development consists of all market sale aiming to satisfy the demand for properties in the Filey area. With 95% of the first two phases sold or reserved this development is proving to be extremely popular. In addition, the site was planned with significant thought given to outdoor space and biodiversity. The scheme is currently being marketed by Viola Homes and is due for completion in February 2024.
Summers-Inman was also appointed as Cost Consultant and Employers Agent to the Pasture Lane development in Seamer, Scarborough in October 2021. This £4.2 million project will deliver 32 two and three-bed affordable homes and has currently been submitted for planning.
The development, which will be completed in one phase, will provide a mixed tenure opportunity. The first phase will provide nine two-bedroom homes which will be made available for affordable rent, along with five two and three-bedroom properties, which will be marketed for sale through shared ownership.
The second phase will provide a further 22 two and three-bedroom homes, 16 of which will be available for affordable rent and six for shared ownership. This development will not only increase affordable homes in the area but will also support people wanting to get onto the property ladder, offering this type of affordable housing in the village for the first time.
The project is due to complete in December 2023.
Scarborough & Spalding Moor
Summers-Inman has also been appointed to two schemes in Spalding Moor and Scarborough, one of which has just been handed over – the other is currently on-site.
In Spalding Moor, this 67-unit site is nearing completion and due for hand over by June 2022. This £8 million development, located on the High Street, is a mix of two, three and four-bedroom houses for affordable rent or shared ownership.
Won via the Yorkshire Housing Framework, Summers-Inman in working in partnership as Employers Agent, Cost Consultant and Principal Designer.
There was also a final handover in January 2021 of a 49-unit scheme worth £6.9 million. Located in Lady Edith’s drive in Scarborough. This development was located on a challenging, steep site and offers a mix of two, three and four-bedroom houses of affordable rent and shared ownership.
The scheme began in May 2020 and completed in January 2021, despite challenges due to the pandemic.
Wakefield
Appointed towards the end of 2021, Summers-Inman are working closely with a housing provider to develop a new 114-unit scheme at St Swithins Drive in Stanley, Wakefield.
This £19m development is a mix of two, three and four-bedroom family homes, commencing on site in March 2022 in a phased handover until March 2024.
The scheme also sees the relocation of existing elderly residents’ bungalows into new purpose-built bungalows on the site.
The future of residential
With materials and labour shortages, rising energy costs and the need for the construction industry to move swiftly towards carbon neutral, these are all very real challenges, which means that cost management has never been more important.
However, new technology, new materials and new ways of heating homes are all on the horizon, so it is an exciting time to be involved in what will turn out to be a revolutionary sector in the race to net zero.
The fact remains that the average house-buyer may not yet be aware of the 2025 carbon targets and unless it saves them money or is easier to manage, may not ever care. So, it is industry that will have to create the technology and materials to fill this void. Part of this will be fuelled by legislation, grants and companies for whom ‘B Corporation Status’(meeting high standards of verified performance, accountability and transparency across all areas of the organisation) is at the core of their value structure but for most of the market, it will be consultants in the construction process that will need to support their clients in finding, implementing and measuring the sustainable elements of a build.
Summers-Inman provides a director-led team who will be involved in your project from conception to ensure value for money and cost efficiencies are achieved from day one. Our team is highly experienced in the residential sector and understands potential sale values, assisting clients to achieve their targets.
