Urban&Civic plc Urban&Civic selected for Manydown urban extension (1586G)

TIDMUANC

RNS Number : 1586G

Urban&Civic plc

28 February 2018

28 February 2018

Urban&Civic plc

Urban&Civic, in partnership with the Wellcome Trust, selected as Master Developer for the Manydown strategic extension of Basingstoke

Urban&Civic plc ('Urban&Civic'), working with the Wellcome Trust ('Wellcome'), has been selected to partner with Basingstoke and Deane Borough and Hampshire County Councils (together 'the Councils') to deliver 3,500 new homes at Manydown, a planned exemplar strategic extension to Basingstoke, in Hampshire. The decision followed a comprehensive procurement process by the Councils, as joint leasehold owners of 794 acres to the immediate west of Basingstoke. The formal stages of selection commenced in July 2016; since when bidders put forward detailed proposals through four successive stages of procurement.

The land is allocated for residential development. Following extensive public involvement in drawing up a comprehensive masterplan, an outline planning application was submitted by the Councils in March 2017. In addition to the new homes, the application envisages local businesses, retail and community facilities, two new primary schools, land for a secondary school and a 250 acre new country park. The expectation is that Urban&Civic, with Wellcome, will commit to drawdown the land, in partnership with the Councils, conditional upon outline planning being obtained.

Basingstoke benefits from some of the best transport connections south west of London and the potential exists for an enlarged Manydown development to become one of the most important projects across the entire region. An additional 1,230 acres is also under the leasehold development ownership of the Councils and has been submitted under a 'call for sites' for consideration under the revised Strategic Housing and Economic Land Availability Assessment. That submission envisages up to a further 7,000 new homes on land, which currently remains outside the scope of the existing agreement.

Cabinet member for Manydown at Basingstoke and Deane Borough Council Cllr John Izett said:

"I am delighted to welcome Urban&Civic working with the Wellcome Trust as our selected partner after a rigorous, demanding competitive tender. They share our ambitions for Manydown and I am confident they will contribute hugely to meeting the challenges ahead to enable an outstanding realisation of Manydown, which is so important to the borough and our residents. Urban&Civic's record of working with and listening to local communities and bringing forward early delivery of infrastructure and amenities is especially commendable. We look forward to building a strong and productive relationship with our new partner. The two councils will remain actively involved, working with Urban&Civic and the Wellcome Trust in years to come."

Leader of Hampshire County Council Cllr Roy Perry added:

"This announcement marks the next exciting step in the Manydown project. Urban&Civic's wealth of expertise and experience will ensure that our vision for creating a development at Manydown with robust infrastructure, including high quality schools, housing and amenities, is the best it can be. Manydown will be a flourishing community, in which people can step onto the housing ladder, grow their families and thrive in all aspects of their lives."

Chief Executive of Urban&Civic plc Nigel Hugill said:

"Manydown will reinforce Basingstoke by building on existing strengths. Our selection against really tough competition demonstrates the increasing scalability of the Master Developer approach in meeting housing numbers on strategic projects across South East England. Wellcome is a wonderful addition to our list of allies."

Peter Pereira Gray, Managing Partner and Chief Executive Officer of the Investment Division at the Wellcome Trust, said:

"We are delighted to partner with Urban& Civic and the councils to deliver the highest quality development on this Manydown site. It is an exciting opportunity which is consistent with our long-term investment horizon, our philosophy of partnering with best-in-class operators, and the scale of other assets in our portfolio."

-ENDS-

For further information, please contact:

Urban&Civic plc 020 7509 5555

Nigel Hugill /David Wood

FTI Consulting

020 3727 1000

Giles Barrie /Ellie Sweeney /Dido Laurimore

urban&[e-mail]

Notes:

About Urban&Civic plc

Urban&Civic plc is an established UK property development and investment company listed on the London Stock Exchange's main market (UANC), with total assets valued at over GBP460 million (31 March 2017). Headquartered in London and with a network of regional offices, Urban&Civic's team is led by Nigel Hugill, CEO, and Robin Butler, Managing Director. The Company has significant in-house expertise across site assembly, planning, project management, delivery, community engagement and sales.

Strategic land constitutes the core of Urban&Civic's business model where, as Master Developer, it owns or has the stewardship of over 5,500 acres across six sites in or close to Cambridge, Corby, Huntingdon, Newark, Rugby and St. Neots. These sites will deliver approximately 30,000 new homes, over six million square feet of business space and at least thirteen primary and four secondary schools over the next approximately 15 years.

This information is provided by RNS

The company news service from the London Stock Exchange

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February 28, 2018 02:01 ET (07:01 GMT)