Aster Group secures 11 new affordable housing developments

Aster Group has secured a raft of new development deals set to break ground between now and mid-2022. The announcement represents a £40m investment across 11 Section 106 sites in Devon, Gloucestershire, Somerset, Dorset and Hampshire.

The new programme will deliver nearly 250 affordable, social rent and shared ownership homes, and adds two further Community Land Trusts (CLTs) to Aster’s growing portfolio of developments using this delivery method.

This selection of schemes represents one of Aster’s biggest ever single investments into Devon, with a total of seven schemes equating to 152 homes – including 61 homes for Matford, Exeter and 22 for Swan Park, Dawlish.

With construction already underway in Mead Park in Devon, Hartnells Farm in Taunton, Somerset, and Larkbear Tawcroft in Barnstable, the first tranche of homes is on track for completion by spring 2022. All of the newly secured homes are due to be delivered by spring 2026.

Amanda Williams, chief investment officer at Aster Group, said: “We've set ourselves bold and ambitious delivery targets over the next 10 years, to supply the volume and variety of homes desperately needed across the country. Securing significant schemes, like those announced today, is crucial to us achieving those goals.

“Our strategy has always been to be diverse in our approach to building homes, ensuring we’re offering choice to our customers and have a resilient pipeline. Introducing two new CLTs to our portfolio as part of our Section 106 programme, speaks to this goal – they put the communities those developments serve right at the heart of the projects and are a great way of ensuring new homes meet specific local needs.”

The new additions to Aster’s delivery pipeline come soon after the housing association set out plans to build nearly 3,000 new homes by 2023.

In October 2021, Aster Group also finalised its second merger with London-based Central & Cecil Housing. The new partnership will increase the combined group’s ability to further support the communities it operates in.