Housing: Construction
The question
To ask the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, with reference to the press notice entitled Public land unlocked for the next generation of home owners, published on 27 March 2025, when she expects the housing developments at (a) Newcastle Forth Yards, (b) Manchester Mayfield, (c) Cambridge, (d) Nottingham, (e) Ripon, (f) Chilwell and (g) Wyton airfield in Cambridgeshire to (i) start and (ii) be completed.
Answered by Matthew Pennycook
The Secretary of State for Defence has identified the long-term opportunity to build over 100,000 homes on surplus defence land, improving opportunities for homeownership and creating jobs across the country. This includes a commitment to building and modernising family homes for the Armed Forces and Veterans, delivering on our commitments to British families and our Armed Forces.
Work is underway with HM Treasury, the Ministry of Defence, and Homes England (HE) to establish opportunities to accelerate delivery with trailblazer sites at Ripon, Chilwell and Wyton.
Deverell Barracks at Ripon has now transferred to HE with outline planning in place for 1,300 homes. Work will begin as soon as full planning approval has been received.
We are not able to give start and finish dates for Chilwell and Wyton due to the preliminary stage of these projects.
Network Rail has announced the establishment of a new property company to unlock up to 40,000 homes over the next decade, with the first homes set for development in Cambridge, Manchester, Nottingham and Newcastle:
- Manchester Mayfield: start on site expected in 2026 with completion of Phase 1 in 2030 and Phase 2 in 2034;
- Cambridge: start on site expected in summer 2026, with completion in spring 2029;
- Nottingham: start on site expected in summer 2027, with completion in 2029;
Newcastle: it is not yet possible to provide clear start and finish dates, though Network Rail expect to release land for housing over the next 7 to 10 years.
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