A deal has been reached which will see 135 affordable homes built across Staffordshire, Derbyshire and Leicestershire.

One of the UK's largest housing groups, Orbit has signed a contract Midlands-based Trent & Dove to deliver the homes.

The contract forms part of Orbit's strategic partnership with Homes England which will provide grant funding of £128m for an additional 2,762 much-needed affordable new homes to be in development by 2022.

Maggie McCann, Director of Regeneration and Partnerships at Orbit, explained: "Our partnership with Homes England supports our ambition to deliver 20,000 new homes over the next 10 years as we continue to play a key role in the growth of the UK housing market and fulfil our commitment to lead in building thriving communities. The contract we have just signed will enable Trent & Dove to meet its own development ambitions through the Homes England funding.


"This is a very positive step for the affordable housing market in the Midlands and Homes England is fully behind this partnership. We were very impressed with Trent & Dove's experience of building high quality, affordable homes which are much-needed in Staffordshire, Derbyshire and Leicestershire."

Trent & Dove will build, own and manage the homes, which will be a mixture of affordable rent and shared ownership properties. A number of sites have been identified to deliver the 135 new homes and work has already started on two with three currently appointing contractors and two sites are in the planning system.

These new homes will add to the firm's portfolio of 6,000 properties covering East Staffordshire, South Derbyshire and North West Leicestershire.

Charlie Riley, Director of Development at Trent & Dove Housing, added: "We are delighted to partner with Orbit to support our aspiration of becoming a 10,000 home organisation by 2022. Together, with both our experience and expertise, we can build the right homes in the right places for our customers. The partnership supports our mission of Transforming Homes, Lives and Neighbourhoods and we look forward to playing a pivotal role in providing more homes across our region."

(CM/MH)