North East property and renewable energy firm The Banks Group is set to begin building new homes after setting up a dedicated regional housebuilding company.
Banks Homes will focus on sites of all sizes across North East England and Yorkshire, and will be managed from the family firm’s County Durham headquarters and Harewood office near Leeds.
It will operate independently, but alongside, Banks’ existing property development arm, Banks Property, and will look to both acquire sites from other developers and identify its own market opportunities.
Banks Property will continue to work independently with many of the UK’s best-known housebuilders, as it has done successfully over the last 35 years.
Banks Homes has already acquired its first two development sites, which will mark the formal launch of the company, and is expecting to have its first properties ready for occupation in the first half of next year.
A number of new jobs are currently being created within the new business, with Banks Homes looking to make substantial investments in the regional economy by working with a series of expert contractors on the construction of each new residential development.
Russ Hall, managing director at Banks Property, says: “The Banks Group’s success has long been built on identifying opportunities to diversify into new areas where we can use our skills and knowledge to secure commercial and community benefits.
“With our extensive experience in the property development sector, it’s a logical step for us to start to build new, high-quality and sustainable homes ourselves by establishing our own housebuilding business, which will contribute directly to meeting the pressing need to improve and increase the housing supply across the North East and Yorkshire.
“The new business will work independently, but alongside, the existing operations of Banks Property, which will continue to identify, promote and sell land for the development of new homes by many of the UK’s best-known housebuilders, as it has for more than 35 years.”
The Banks Group has 47 years’ experience of developing land in the north of England and Scotland, working alongside some of the best-known names in the housebuilding sector and securing planning permission for over 10,000 homes.
It is responsible for the creation of the landmark Mount Oswald development in Durham City and the unique Bowesfield development in Stockton, which features a nature reserve alongside residential and commercial elements, while it has also delivered successful property schemes in locations across Yorkshire, including Harrogate, Sheffield and Leeds.
Banks Property recently announced plans for a new integrated extension to the village of Eggborough in North Yorkshire which would include up to 1,500 energy efficient properties of all types, while it is also working on the residential redevelopment of the former Clydesdale Steelworks site in Glasgow through a scheme that would include up to 490 new homes.
Russ Hall continues: “Banks Homes has already acquired its first two sites and we are quickly building a strong pipeline of future project locations across the North East and Yorkshire.
“The company will take the ‘development with care’ approach that characterises the wider Group’s way of working, building positive relationships with key local groups and communities, living up to the promises that we make and to deliver tangible benefits to the places in which we work.
“Banks Homes is an exciting landmark in the Banks Group’s continuing evolution and we’re looking forward to working with local authorities, property professionals and communities across the north of England as our new housebuilding business become fully operational.”
For further information on Banks Homes, please visit www.bankshomes.co.uk