Countryside Partnerships, the UK’s leading mixed-tenure developer, has been given the go ahead by Nuneaton and Bedworth Borough Council to start work on 122 new affordable homes at the 7.4-acre site of the former Bedworth Bowling and Rugby Club. Midland Heart, a registered provider of affordable housing, will own and manage the properties on completion.
The site lies between Dalton Road to the north, Rectory Drive to the east, and Down Meadow and Smarts Road to the south. The bowling greens were last used in 2020 and the rugby club vacated the site in 2017 when the club moved to Nicholas Chamberlaine School. As well as transforming a derelict site and creating new, much-needed affordable housing for the area, Countryside Partnerships is investing heavily in the local community with a commitment to provide in excess of £2.5 million for local services, including £1.25 million for floodlights and a new clubhouse for Bedworth Rugby Club at Nicholas Chamberlaine School, over £500,000 for leisure and parks, around £350,000 for education, over £100,000 for healthcare, and over £185,000 for transport.
The site is well-connected to a good range of local facilities and services and has good public transport links. Bedworth Railway Station is approx. 1.2 miles from the site and provides services on the Coventry to Nuneaton line. There are 31 primary schools and six secondary schools rated Good or above by Ofsted within a three-mile radius. Exhall Junior School and Goodyers End Primary can be reached on foot within approximately 10 minutes. Further amenities are available in nearby Coventry, which was the 2021 City of Culture.
Phil McHugh, Managing Director, North West Midlands, Countryside said: “Helping communities thrive is a key part of our ethos, so we’re pleased to be working with Nuneaton and Bedworth Borough Council and Midland Heart to unlock this disused site, building new, high-quality, affordable homes for local people.”
Joe Reeves, Executive Director of Finance & Growth, said: “Through our Housing Delivery Strategy, which commits us to build and acquire 4,000 homes by 2025, we are helping to supply much-needed affordable housing to people within our region. We are thrilled to be working with Countryside Partnerships to transform this site into a development of energy efficient, affordable homes.”
