Crest Nicholson beats five rivals to lead £500m development of Oakgrove Millennium Community in Milton Keynes.
Crest Nicholson has been appointed lead developer of the £500m Oakgrove Millennium Community development in Milton Keynes.
The housebuilder was selected from 23 competitive tenders and a shortlist of six by project partners English Partnerships, Milton Keynes Council and the South East England Development Agency. The other housebuilders on the shortlist were Countryside Properties, Taylor Woodrow, Persimmon, Wilson Bowden and Berkeley Homes.
The 64 ha development will include up to 2,000 new homes including 30% affordable housing, which will be provided with Crest Nicholson’s social housing partner Hyde Housing Group. There will also be two new schools, a multipurpose health centre, a nursery and a commercial centre.
EP said Crest Nicholson demonstrated an exceptionally high standard in the design and masterplanning of the development.
David Higgins, EP chief executive said: “The development of this Millennium Community will set an exemplar standard, not only for Milton Keynes and the South Midlands, but for the wider housebuilding industry.
John Callcutt, chief executive at Crest Nicholson said: “Creating sustainable communities, which are able to generate a real sense of belonging, is central to Crest Nicholson’s business strategy. We are delighted to part of the Millennium Communities initiative.
Crest Nicholson will be responsible for approximately 50% of the site masterplanning, design and construction of Oakgrove, while the remaining plots will be sold to other developers.
There are currently seven Millennium Communities either being built or planned. The first four sites were Greenwich, Allerton Bywater near Leeds, New Islington in Manchester and Nar Ouse in King's Lynn.
