AWARD-WINNING housebuilder Stonewood Group has branched out into housing development with a 38-home project in north Wiltshire.
Somerbrook, at Brook Farm in Great Somerford, is the first foray into development for Stonewood Partnerships, a new offshoot of the Stonewoood Group. Stonewood has carved out a reputation for high quality house refurbishment over the last 20 years, particularly in listed buildings.
Managing Director Matt Aitkenhead took on the firm, based in Castle Combe, Wiltshire, from his father Neill in 2009 in partnership with Commercial Director and friend Ben Lang. It was the arrival of former Countryside Properties director Richard Cherry as a director at Stonewood that prompted the move into larger developments.
Says Mr Lang: “We carried out a refurbishment of Richard’s house in Bath. We didn’t discover about his background until much later. He came to us later in 2017 and said ‘I think you could do housebuilding. You’ve got transferrable knowledge and resource; you have got the right attitude and it is something I’d be keen to do with you’.
“He is brilliant because he will give us the benefit of his vast experience in this sector. He has a light touch, he’s very sage, very wise and very ambitious.”
The development, which borders a farm first established in the 1500s, comprises a mixture of two, three, four and five-bedroomed homes that are terraced, link detached or detached. These beautiful village-style homes are sensitively integrated around a village green, open spaces, an unobtrusive access road and designated parking for every dwelling.
The homes have been sensitively designed to mirror those in the nearby village by reflecting the same exterior finishes – stone, red brick and premium quality roughcast render. They also feature the same eclectic mix of chimneys.
Somerbrook has been designed by Stonewood’s in-house architects, Stonewood Design. They took their design cues from the village’s former pub The Masons Arms, now a private home, which opened in 1841. Echoes of its stone frontage and late Georgian/early Victorian style can be seen throughout the Brook Farm development.
Finance for the development is being provided by Stonewood, the Housing Growth Partnership – a social impact equity investor backed by Lloyds Bank and Homes England – and a development loan from Close Brothers Property Finance.
Says Mr Aitkenhead: “Our challenge will be to make sure the housebuilding side shares an ethos and builds the same reputation as the contracting side for building responsibly, to a high quality and with attention to detail. We all want to be equally proud of the new build houses as our refurb and conversion projects. With the team we have assembled we are hugely confident of achieving this.
“The fact that Richard Cherry is involved, a housebuilder to have developed a scheme that won the Royal Institute of British Architects Stirling Prize for excellence in architecture shows the quality we have. It’s that passion and drive for quality that will set us apart.”
Stonewood Partnerships aims to be a serious player in the sector and have set themselves a target of building 300 new homes a year within five years. Director of land and planning Gavin Calthrop already has more sites in the pipeline.
Said Mr Aitkenhead: “We are keen to talk to anyone with the right site and we are happy to consider partnerships.”
The group employs more than 200 staff and works with more than 300 sub-contractors. It is busy looking for extra office space and Stonewood Partnerships has just moved into its own HQ in Tormarton on the Wiltshire/Gloucestershire border.
Stonewood Group, whose turnover now exceeds £50 million, has strengthened its management structure with the promotion of Sam Smart as Managing Director of Stonewood Partnerships and Jamie Priest and Mike Hopkins as directors of Stonewood Group.
Despite the rapid growth, Mr Aitkenhead and Mr Lang are determined to preserve the values that have underpinned their success – forging good relationships with clients and partners and finding and developing their own key staff.
Says Mr Lang: “As with most things in life, business is about people. Surrounding yourself with like-minded, fun and driven colleagues, finding shared goals and incentives and pushing forward to achieve them.”
Ben, Richard & Matt.