Our aim is to form long-lasting relationships with all our key partners – landowners, contractors and housing associations.
Minster Property Group, based in Market Harborough, specialises in the purchase and development of land across all of central and eastern England from North Norfolk to Bedfordshire. We are specialists in both the sourcing and acquisition of land, with planning application expertise and technical skills in delivering housing.
Minster has an impressive track record, with over 1,600 houses being delivered since our launch in 2018. We engage at an early stage with all landowners to ensure a positive outcome is achieved.
Generally, we work in the affordable housing sector. Affordable housing doesn’t only benefit the people who get to live in the properties, it helps bring prosperity to the locality. We try to use local building contractors to deliver the houses, which in turn create the new homes that young people and families can afford, which in turn creates jobs.
As a result, construction companies have to take on more builders, engineers and labourers. Companies in the supply chain win more business, so they need to employ more people, too. Once the homes are built, there is more work for property companies, housing associations and estate agents, who will take on more people to administrate the affordable homes.
Then, there is the secondary boost to the wider economy that new settlements bring. New housing estates need new shops, schools, transport links etc. All of these require people to build and run them.
After many years, it’s something the Government and the housing industry have begun to wake up to.
Affordable housing has, historically, had bad press but nowadays houses are often better presented than some market-equivalent homes, with low running costs and excellent modern design such as PV panels.
We will have a number of people owning the houses longer term via the shared ownership model. We have everyone from junior doctors to teachers in affordable homes these days – a sign that the housing market has outpriced many new entrants. Sadly, it’s often the older generation who don’t want the affordable housing in their village but it’s often their children who suffer without it.
Landowners are also waking up to the fact that the land prices we can pay are extremely competitive and also often less contentious in planning, given that we tend to work on schemes of 30 houses to 60, with support given to all affordable schemes.
Northamptonshire is currently very active and we are seeking a number of sites in the region, which has excellent Government support given its location and access both to London and local job markets. We are happy to provide landowners with initial free assessments with no commitment to sell to us.
Our approach to development involves engaging with landowners at an early stage to ensure our developments best meet delivery objectives, whether that be early engagement with local authority housing teams to ensure the requirements of local people who are most in need of housing are met, or with end users to ensure the built product can be used and managed in the best way possible according to their needs.
Minster Property Group adopts a partnership approach in all that we do, we strive to give everyone involved a positive experience. We specialise in residential – focusing on high-priority areas, and collaborate closely with local authority housing teams, planners, housing providers and design teams. This collaboration ensures our developments align with market demographics and are built to endure the test of time.
We also acquire land and buildings for commercial and retail uses, with the aim of providing attractive environments to visit, work or shop, and that can work well with the housing. An example is a Co-Op store Minster delivered in a village location, which has led to more housing being built and locals who now don’t need to drive as far for their groceries.
By Brett Caswell, Director of Minster Property Group
To find out more about Minster Property Group, call 01858 432856 or visit their website.
