Housebuilder Countryside Properties has bought four brownfield sites potentially worth £156m.
Two of the sites are in Manchester, one in Bristol and one in West Malling, Kent.

The firm is planning a £53m mixed-use scheme on the first site, 0.6 ha of land on Booth Street, close to Manchester city centre.

Planning permission has been granted for four buildings, which will include 282 apartments and penthouses plus 833 m2 of retail space and 1700 m2 of office space.

The company also aims to obtain planning permission for a £38m apartment development on the waterfront at Salford Quays.

Outline permission has been granted for the scheme, on 0.9 ha of derelict land, with construction expected to start next spring.

In Bristol, the council has granted outline permission for a 17 ha scheme at Westbury-on-Trym in the north of the city. This £40m project will be sited on the grounds of a former mental hospital.

The development will include 210 new and refurbished houses and apartments. Construction is due to begin in September.

The final project is a 2.5 ha site at King's Hill, West Malling, where Countryside plans to build a £25m development of 74 homes. Work should start in the next few weeks.