Curo News

Bristol Cabinet Member for Housing impressed with progress of new homes in Lawrence Weston

Wed, 20 Apr 2022 11:01:47 Z

Image above (R-L): Homes England Head of Provider Management, John Kearney, Curo Head of Construction, Paul Fackrell, Curo Chief Executive, Victor da Cunha, Curo Health and Safety Manager, Andrew Culverhouse, Bristol City Council Cabinet Member for Housing Delivery and Homes, Councillor Tom Renhard, Homes England Senior Manager, Helen Bone, and Kensa Contracting Managing Director, David Broom, at Curo's development of 128 new homes, Century Park, in Lawrence Weston, Bristol.

Bristol City Council Cabinet Member for Housing Delivery and Homes, Councillor Tom Renhard, visited Curo’s Century Park and The Willows developments in Lawrence Weston to see the construction progress of 185 new homes for the city.

More than half of the new homes currently being delivered by Curo across the two schemes will be much-needed affordable housing for local families.

Cllr Renhard was accompanied on the visit by Curo Chief Executive, Victor da Cunha, and Homes England’s Head of Provider Management, John Kearney and Senior Manager, Helen Bone.

At Century Park, where Curo has already welcomed eight families this year, they visited the recently launched show home and saw how ground source heat pumps work. All homes at Century Park benefit from heat pumps, a greener, more environmentally-friendly way to provide domestic heating and hot water compared to gas boilers.

When completed, Century Park will deliver 128 homes in total, including 29 homes for social rent and nine homes for shared ownership.

At The Willows, where Curo is working with contractor Jehu Group to deliver the regeneration scheme, Cllr Renhard met James Beck, a local resident who is now employed as part of the building team on site.

Image above: Bristol City Council Cabinet Member for Housing Delivery and Homes, Councillor Tom Renhard (left) with Curo Chief Executive, Victor da Cunha (right) and Lawrence Weston resident, James Beck (centre), who is now part of the construction team at Curo's development of 57 new affordable homes at The Willows in Lawrence Weston, Bristol.

Due to be completed by the end of the year, The Willows will provide 38 homes for social and affordable rent and 19 homes for shared ownership. The project benefits from a Homes England grant of just over £2.8 million, alongside Curo’s investment of almost £5.7 million.

Curo will also refurbish an existing block of 12 apartments which will benefit from external panelling, new windows and new electricity supplies. The improvements will help reduce heating bills and increase comfort for residents.

Councillor Tom Renhard, Bristol City Council Cabinet Member for Housing Delivery and Homes says: “I’m impressed with the progress Curo is making in Lawrence Weston to deliver these much-needed new homes, while supporting the community and local economy. It’s fantastic that more than half of the new homes will be affordable housing, with many benefitting from low carbon ground source heat pumps. This will help many local families to live in good quality, future proof homes which will also support our city to move to closer to its net zero carbon ambitions.”

Image above: Representatives from Curo, Bristol City Council, the government's housing agency Homes England and contractor Jehu Group at Curo's development of 57 new affordable homes in Lawrence Weston, The Willows.

Victor says: “These new affordable homes will change the lives of many families struggling to take a first step on the property ladder or rent affordably in the local area. But our homes for sale are also helping young couples to achieve their homeownership dreams close to their families and friends – the majority of our new residents at Century Park so far are people under 35 years of age from Lawrence Weston, Shirehampton, Avonmouth and Brentry and most have purchased their homes with Help to Buy, available only on new-builds.

“Our developments in Lawrence Weston are great examples of partnership working between a housing association, the local authority and the government’s housing agency. We worked closely with Bristol City Council to secure the sites, while Homes England grant funding is making it possible for us to deliver a 100% affordable housing scheme at The Willows.”

Curo launch a show home like no other at Century Park development in Bristol

Tue, 22 Feb 2022 12:58:08 Z

A unique show home full of character and colour has opened its doors at Curo’s residential development of 128 new homes in Lawrence Weston, Bristol.

The two-bedroom, mid-terrace ‘Westbury’ show home features unique artwork created by West Country and Bristol-based artists such as Helen Chester and Andy Council. Helen created two abstract paintings for the show home’s lounge and master bedroom, while Andy designed a mural for the show home’s cloakroom. The mural depicts a standing unicorn inspired by the city’s coat of arms and made up of local landmarks close to Curo’s development: Kings Weston House, Blaise Castle Estate, the wind turbines in Avonmouth, as well the Severn crossing.

Andy also spray-painted a piano for the show home’s living room – the design combines the industrial heritage of the area with iconic Bristol symbols such as the Suspension Bridge, the Hot Air Balloon Festival and Clifton’s multicoloured houses.

Andy says: “I was delighted to work with Curo on this project at their Century Park development in Bristol. The spray paint and ‘street art’ style of my work reflects what Bristol’s creative scene is widely known for and fits well with Century Park’s location. It’s great that Curo have chosen to work with and promote local artists who have good knowledge of the area and can add value and authenticity to a project.”

The show home also features framed prints by Bristol-based street artist Nick Walker and designer and illustrator Hannah Broadway.

Curo Sales Manager, Jodie Winter, says: “We’re very excited about our show home at Century Park. The design is inspired by the development’s location and promotes local landmarks, as well as the vibrant and multicultural art scene of Bristol and surrounding areas.”

(Show home master bedroom)

Century Park offers one-, two-, three- and four-bedroom homes, as well as green open spaces and cycle path connections to the wider area. All properties feature ground source heat pumps, a greener alternative to gas boilers.

(Dining area)

Jodie says: “All homes released for sale at Century Park so far have been reserved, but more properties will be advertised in the coming months. Homes at Century Park are modern, energy-efficient, sustainable, and attractively priced, with many being eligible to purchase using the government-backed Help to Buy scheme.”

To find out more about the homes at Century Park or to book an appointment to visit the Westbury show home, call 0345 140 5050 or email CenturyPark@curo-group.co.uk.

(Show home cloakroom featuring mural by artist Andy Council)

Young Bristol family can finally live together thanks to new housing development

Mon, 07 Feb 2022 09:44:23 Z

Bradley and Chelsea visiting Century Park to see construction progress of their new home

A young couple and their two children can finally live together for the first time in years, after taking a first step on the property ladder at Curo’s new development of 128 homes in Lawrence Weston, Century Park.

Bradley and Chelsea are both 27 and live in the local area. Chelsea is staying at her parents’ home in Lawrence Weston with the couple’s two children, 5-year-old daughter and 3-year-old son, while Bradley lives in Shirehampton with his parents and younger sister.

The couple have opted for this arrangement instead of renting so that they could save up for a deposit to buy a home of their own.

Chelsea says: “My sister also lives at home with our parents and there’s no room, which is why Bradley and I are having to live apart at the minute. Sometimes Bradley doesn’t finish work until late and then he has to go straight home, without seeing me or the children.”

Bradley, who manages a garage for lorry repairs in Avonmouth, says: “It’s very hard and it’s been like this for a couple of years now. We did consider renting, of course, because we wanted to be together as a family, but we wouldn’t have been able to save up for a deposit then. When you have children and you’re paying £1,000 a month in rent alone it is very hard to do it.”

The couple bought their two-bedroom house at Century Park with the government’s Help to Buy Equity Loan scheme, which is only available for new-build homes. Help to Buy makes it possible for first time buyers to purchase a home with only 5% cash deposit, while benefitting from a government loan of 20% of the cost of a newly built home, making mortgages more affordable.

Bradley says: “We were very excited when we heard that Curo were going to build homes here, in Lawrence Weston. We really thought this is a great opportunity to do something good for our family. Since then we made extra efforts to save up and buy our own home.

“We couldn’t buy an older property in the area because we couldn’t afford it without Help to Buy.”

Chelsea walks her two children to school in Avonmouth every day. The journey will take about half the time from their new home. She says: “Our extended families live in the area and we’re very close, we help each other with the kids and support one another, so we feel very lucky that we could stay in Lawrence Weston, close to all our family and friends.”

Bradley says: “We can’t wait to tell the children that we’re all going to move to our own house together, they’ll be made up!

“We’re just looking forward to being together and spending time as a family.”

All homes released for sale at Century Park in the first tranche have now been sold, but more properties will be made available to reserve and buy over the coming months.

Century Park offers 1-, 2-, 3- and 4-berroom homes for sale, social rent and Shared Ownership. All homes at Century Park feature ground source heat pumps, an alternative to gas boilers that is more environmentally friendly.

For more information about homes at Century Park, call Curo’s sales team on 0345 140 5050, email sales@curo-group.co.uk or visit www.curo-sales.co.uk.

First homes at new Bristol development to go on sale this month

Fri, 06 Aug 2021 09:00:00 Z

Curo’s Century Park residential development in Lawrence Weston, Bristol, is set to open the doors to its marketing suite this month as the first new homes are released for sale.

Century Park is a brand-new neighbourhood of 128 homes for private sale, rent and Shared Ownership, ranging from one-bedroom apartments to four-bedroom family houses.

Prices for the first homes available to buy start at £230,000 for a two-bedroom mid-terrace house with one parking space, up to £320,000 for a four-bedroom end of terrace with two parking spaces.

With construction work well underway, these homes are scheduled to be ready to move into next year.

Alongside homes, Century Park will also provide open spaces, including a play trail and trim trail, as well as the relocation and improvement of an existing cycle path, which will be lit through the new development.

Homes at Century Park will feature ground source heat pumps, a low carbon heating system that’s better for the environment, and a greener alternative to traditional gas boilers.

Curo Sales Manager Jodie Winter says: “Homes at Century Park are situated close to great schools, at the heart of a vibrant community, and only a 15-minute drive or 30-minute train journey from Bristol City Centre. There are many parks nearby, including the stunning Blaise Castle Estate, as well as plenty of cycle routes connecting the new homes with places like Aust village and Portishead.

“We’re very pleased to be launching our marketing suite this month and our team is looking forward to helping many families find their perfect home at Century Park. All homes currently released for sale are also available with Help to Buy, a scheme aimed at helping first time buyers to get on the property ladder with a government loan of up to 20% of the cost of a newly built home.”

Curo’s sales office will open on Saturday 21 August and visitors will be able to book appointments 7 days a week from 10am-5.30pm.

For more information about the new homes, or to book an appointment at Century Park, visit our sales website or call 0345 140 5050.

Local residents choose names for Curo’s developments in Lawrence Weston, Bristol

Fri, 19 Apr 2019 08:55:24 Z

‘Century Park’ and ‘The Willows’ are today revealed as the new names for Curo’s developments in Lawrence Weston, Bristol.

The names were suggested by local residents Becky Cockle and Rhiannon Beail, following a campaign by Curo to find new identities for the two sites - previously referred to as Henacre Road and Corbet Close.

The winning residents were thanked for their contributions and given vouchers by Curo Chief Executive, Victor da Cunha. Victor says: “We wanted to make sure we chose names that reflected the local area, its community, history and landmarks - what better way to do so than ask local people who live here for their input.

“The competition was a great opportunity to engage with the local community and we’ve received many inspiring suggestions. Thanks to everyone who got involved and congratulations to Becky and Rhiannon for putting forward the winning names.”

Over the next few years, Curo plans to develop 185 new homes in Lawrence Weston with more than half – 95 homes – as affordable housing for social/affordable rent and shared ownership.

Century Park at Henacre Road will deliver 128 new homes, including 30% affordable housing. The Willows at Corbet Close is a 100% affordable housing scheme and will provide another 57 much-needed new homes.

Rhiannon Beail, who suggested ‘The Willows’, is a 21-year-old college student. She said: “The development is located very close to the local nature reserve and wetlands where there are many willow trees. As a resident of Lawrence Weston I have visited these wetlands many times since I was little and thought it would be nice to acknowledge the close connection to nature we have in this area.

“There was also a large willow tree that stood just up the street from Corbet Close, I used to walk past it every day on my way to school.”

Century Park was suggested by local resident Becky Cockle, who is a Trainee Community Development Worker for the resident-driven organisation Ambition Lawrence Weston. Becky’s choice recognises the 100th anniversary since the first ‘homes for heroes’ were built in the wider area. She said: “I support the development and look forward to these much-needed new homes being built. I’m even more excited about it now that I can tell friends and family I actually named the site!”

Name our developments and win £100 in Love2Shop vouchers

Mon, 10 Dec 2018 12:03:24 Z

Curo asks local people for suggestions

We’re proud and excited to be delivering 185 new homes in Lawrence Weston over the next few years. While we’re progressing our planning applications for 57 affordable homes at Corbet Close and 128 homes at Henacre Road, we’re asking local residents to help us find names for our two developments.

If you have an idea for a name for either of the new schemes – or both – that reflects the local area, its community, history or landmarks, we’d love to hear from you.

The winning names will receive £100 in Love2Shop vouchers each and will be announced in February 2019.

Send your ideas together with your name, age, contact details and one sentence explaining the story behind your suggestion by 31st January 2019 to:

E: communications@curo-group.co.uk

Or write to us at:

Curo – Communications

The Maltings, River Place

Lower Bristol Road

Bath BA2 1EP

See Terms & Conditions for the competition here.

Bristol North West MP visits Lawrence Weston site where Curo hope to deliver 57 new affordable homes

Tue, 25 Sep 2018 15:49:19 Z

Image above - from left to right: Curo Senior Development Manager Francesca Topazio, Darren Jones MP, Curo Managing Director Gerraint Oakley and Technical Manager Peter Haywood at Holly House, Corbet Close

Bristol North West MP Darren Jones visited Curo’s site at Corbet Close in Lawrence Weston last week to find out more about the organisation’s plans to build 57 much-needed new affordable homes in the area.

The local MP was accompanied on the site visit by Curo Managing Director, Gerraint Oakley, and the project team.

The development will provide one, two and three bedroom homes for social and affordable rent, as well as a number of homes for shared ownership.

Curo submitted its planning application in August and is anticipating the new homes could be completed by the end of 2021 if granted consent by Bristol City Council.

Corbet Close along with Curo’s other proposed development in Lawrence Weston - for 128 homes at Henacre Road - could see the addition of 185 new homes in total for the area, of which 95 will be affordable housing.

Mr Jones said: “These developments will help more families from Lawrence Weston to stay in or return to the community they love and where they grew up.

“I am pleased that more than half of the new homes proposed by Curo will be available as affordable housing - these homes will benefit people who are on the council’s housing list.

“I grew up in Lawrence Weston and I’m delighted to see investment in housing in this area – these developments and others like it will not only create new housing that is urgently needed in Bristol, they’ll also deliver growth in the local economy. Housing Associations are key partners in delivering our city’s target of 2,000 new homes per year by 2020.”

Gerraint Oakley said: “We’re keen to work with the council and other partners to create even more new housing in Bristol and look forward to be able to start building both at Henacre Road and Corbet Close.

“We’d like to thank Darren Jones MP for taking the time to visit our site and find out more about our developments which will benefit the whole area - including our existing tenants at Corbet Close, who will enjoy better external communal areas, improved security and amenities.”

Curo acquires 10-acre site for housing development from Bristol City Council

Thu, 15 Mar 2018 13:39:50 Z

Housing association and house-builder Curo has recently acquired a 10.2-acre site in Lawrence Weston from Bristol City Council with a view to building up to 128 new homes, including 30% affordable housing for social rent and shared ownership.

Curo will be hosting a public exhibition at the Lawrence Weston Baptist Church (Long Cross, BS11 0LT) on Thursday 22 March from 3pm until 7pm to give local people the chance to view and comment on the proposals.

The land stretches from the back of Long Cross and Henacre Road, between Kings Weston Lane and the skate park, and is one of three sites identified for vital new housing in the Lawrence Weston Neighbourhood Plan.

The proposals have been developed by the housing association in consultation with the resident-driven organisation Ambition Lawrence Weston, Bristol Urban Design Forum and Bristol City Council’s affordable housing team.

Curo is proposing a mix of 1, 2, 3 and 4-bedroom homes, with the majority being 2 and 3-bed houses (72%) in response to the Lawrence Weston Housing Needs Study which highlights the requirement for these types of properties to enable families to stay in the area.

Cabinet lead for housing at BCC, Councillor Paul Smith, says: “Our city desperately needs more affordable housing and we are keen to work with housing associations and developers like Curo who share our vision for thriving mixed communities with high quality, modern and efficient homes.

The Henacre site will unlock the opportunity for more local people to buy or rent at an affordable cost thanks to the 37 social and Shared Ownership homes proposed as part of the development.”

Curo Chief Executive, Victor da Cunha, says: “Curo is an organisation with social purpose at its heart. We’re committed to help build the homes our region needs and we’re proposing 185 new homes for Lawrence Weston in Bristol, across two sites – Henacre and Corbet Close. More than half of these – 94 homes – will be affordable housing delivered within integrated communities.

We’ve got great ambitions to build a significantly higher number of homes in Bristol and we’re constantly looking for new sites to help the Council achieve their goal of delivering 2,000 homes a year by 2020, of which 800 will be affordable housing.”

Alongside new homes, the development plans for Henacre show improvements to the existing infrastructure such as new zebra crossings and bus shelters on Kings Weston Lane and Long Cross, as well as large areas of open green space and a proposal to retain and re-route the existing cycle path to the north of the site.