Work begins building affordable homes in major Spon End regeneration

The investment is part of the Mayor’s drive to build thousands more social rent homes - the most affordable type of housing.

We’re working with The Hill Group to deliver the first phase, which will include 257 affordable homes, 209 of which will be homes for social rent. The project is also supported by Coventry City Council, Homes England and West Midlands Combined Authority (WMCA), which is chaired by the Mayor.

Combined Homes England and the WMCA have invested £39,559,419 into this phase of the project to help deliver affordable homes in the area.

Our Director of Regeneration, Kevin Roach, said: “It’s great to see work now underway at Spon End. This is a significant project for us and will make a real difference to the area.

“These new homes will provide warm, modern and energy efficient places, and it’s exciting to be one step closer to delivering them.

“We’re committed to investing in new homes, regeneration and renewal, and we’re looking forward to working with our partners as the transformation of the area take shape.”

The new development will also see an increase in the amount and quality of green space and will open up the area around the River Sherbourne.

Mayor Richard Parker said: “We must build more homes that are truly affordable, like these social rent properties at Spon End.

“I’ve seen how the lack of a safe, warm and secure home can blight people lives and hold them back from achieving their goals.

“I’m using the funds available to me to start tackling years of under investment in affordable homes so we can start fixing this housing crisis and change more local lives for the better.”

The Mayor also announced today that he was investing a further £2m investment into our redevelopment of the Wyken estate in Coventry to provide a further 63 social rent homes.

Stuart Bale, Regional Director at The Hill Group, said: "Reaching this milestone marks the beginning of an exciting new chapter for Spon End. As construction gets underway, our focus is on delivering high-quality homes that will provide residents with comfort, security and a place they are proud to call home.

“Affordable housing is a vital part of creating strong and sustainable communities, and we are proud to be working with Citizen to bring these much-needed homes forward. With work now on site, we look forward to seeing the development progress and delivering homes that will have a lasting positive impact for local people."

So far at Spon End 158 homes have been demolished at Kerry House, Milestone House and Trafalgar House as part of phase one. The new homes which will be built on this site will be a mix of one and two bedroom flats. These are due to be completed for customers between late 2028 and mid 2029.

Councillor Naeem Akhtar, Cabinet Member for Housing and Communities at Coventry City Council, added: “It’s impressive to be here as work gets started. I came here last year when the demolition had just begun on the 1960s properties that were no longer fit for purpose.

“To be here to see building work get started on the first phase is exciting. Affordable, well-built and energy efficient homes will be a real boost to the neighbourhood.”

Kate Collins, Head of Affordable Housing Delivery at Homes England, said: “As the government’s housing and regeneration agency, increasing the supply of quality affordable homes remains one of our key objectives and we are committed to supporting stakeholders of all sizes to achieve their ambitions.  

“It’s great to see work begin on the first phase of the Spon End project, which will see around 750 new homes built over the next 10 years. This is a prime example of how we work collaboratively with partners in the public and private sector to achieve our mission of building much needed new communities that people can be proud to call home.”

The redevelopment of Spon End will be completed in phases. Area three will see homes in Wellington Gardens, Sherbourne Street and Upper Spon Street demolished to make way for 493 new homes. Area two will see homes demolished at Spon Gate House, George Poole House, Givens House and the low-rise flats with around 500 new homes built on the site.

We will be looking at which phase to develop next over the next 12 to 18 months.