International law firm Trowers & Hamlins has advised Homes England on the acquisition of Ifield Golf Club as part of a land assembly and planning promotion project with the objective of creating a new community between Horsham and Crawley, in the south east of England.
The completion of the acquisition of this significant site enables plans to go forward for 3,250 homes and associated community amenities such as schools, health care facilities, travel infrastructure and recreational spaces. Homes England has identified the potential for a wider strategic development of 10,000 homes that could be brought forward following this initial phase and there is the opportunity for Homes England to support this in its broader capacity as the Government’s housing accelerator.
Ken Glendinning, Project Director at Homes England commented:
“This deal was very important for the scheme since it has unlocked a key element of the site. The team at Trowers provided outstanding support throughout, working with multiple landowners and their legal and professional advisers. We are now able to show that this key site located in one of the most expensive housing areas in England will help meet the Government’s ambitions for the delivery of new affordable homes.”
Partner Simon Robinson who led the Trowers team on the project commented:
"We are delighted to have helped Homes England achieve a major milestone in this important project, even in the midst of the additional challenges presented by Covid-19. As a firm we consider ourselves to be part of the residential development community, sharing in the responsibility to work hard with our sector colleagues to solve the housing crisis. New communities, which can deliver thousands of much need new homes in a co-ordinated way, are absolutely crucial to this mission. So we are delighted to be supporting Homes England and other organisations with projects of this nature - and they don’t get much bigger than this one. Homes England are uniquely placed to provide the long term vision and drive required for the creation of new communities of this size and complexity. We respect and support their leadership to deliver new homes, and are proud to be part of their team".