Foundations set for WPDG to thrive

“We feel very positive about the opportunities that are ahead – opportunities that we will be ready to seize when they arise and in turn bring significant economic and community benefits to Warwickshire.”

A property development group has laid the foundations for it to thrive in the two years since it was formed by Warwickshire County Council.

Warwickshire Property and Development Group (WPDG) was formed in 2021 to drive added value for the Council through the delivery of developments and lettings that best meet the Council’s objectives and those of local people and the area’s economy.

It is part of a £300m package of investment alongside the Warwickshire Recovery and Investment Fund (WRIF) which the Council launched to revitalise the local economy.

WPDG was tasked with speeding up existing regeneration opportunities and identifying new opportunities for the County’s property and land, with the aim of building more affordable and market-priced homes and commercial buildings for new business.

The organisation has made significant progress over the last year, including starting on site with its first commercial and residential developments, and striking a major deal to form £2.5 billion joint venture Develop Warwickshire with Countryside Partnerships and Warwickshire County Council.

Sucham Park in Southam is a 42,000 sq ft industrial scheme which will deliver nine new commercial units, while work is also underway on 71 new homes at Brookmill Meadows in Warton, North Warwickshire.

The Develop Warwickshire joint venture, which is delivering Brookmill Meadows, is a key partnership that is enabling the delivery of sustainable, high-quality homes, creating new communities and benefitting existing local people across Warwickshire.

As part of the joint venture, WPDG has submitted reserved matters applications for Top Farm, the venture’s largest scheme at 1,700 homes, and a public consultation is underway for a further 59 homes in Water Orton.

WPDG’s dedicated asset management team has also been generating growth across the County’s existing commercial portfolio. The County appointed Warwickshire Property Management Ltd (WPM), which is part of WPDG, to manage the lettings on hundreds of Council owned properties.

This work has resulted in successfully increasing the rent roll by 10 per cent for the next nine months and has seen a diverse range of lettings from new allotment holders, new farm tenants and high-tech manufacturers.

WPDG has grown its team, across development and asset management, and the team is led by managing director Stuart Buckley.

He said: “It is two years since Warwickshire Property and Development Group was formed and we’ve made huge strides during that time to deliver on our foundation value of realising the value and economic activity from Warwickshire County Council assets for the benefit of the residents of Warwickshire.

“We set out to drive added value for the Council and we are doing just that. The last two years have been focused on building the foundations which will give WPDG the chance to thrive.

“We are looking forward to the future – continuing to further strengthen our team and accelerate our development activity.

“This time next year we hope to have at least three or four schemes on site, and we are well on our way to doing that and further enhancing the lettable estate.

“We’re particularly proud of what we have achieved so far with Develop Warwickshire, which is a groundbreaking joint venture in scale and longevity for our region.

“Joint ventures of this nature can in many cases take several years before making a significant impact, but we set the foundations prior to completing the partnership to ensure that Develop Warwickshire was able to move quickly once it was formed.

“Before the end of the year, we will be looking to be on-site for the first 600 homes at Top Farm, while also getting work underway on-site at Water Orton, and we will also be tendering for a partner on another homes scheme in Nuneaton.

“Soon we will be announcing the first tenants at our flagship Sucham Park commercial scheme, with it expected to create 100 jobs in the region when completed.

“We are in a great position and feel very positive about the opportunities that are ahead – opportunities that we will be ready to seize when they arise and in turn bring significant economic and community benefits to Warwickshire.”

To find out more about Warwickshire Property & Development Group, please visit www.wpdg.co.uk