Barratt homes in on £185m deal to build at school sites

BARRATT, one of the UK's biggest housebuilders, today announced a £185 million deal to build up to 1400 new homes in South Lanarkshire.

The Newcastle-based firm said the plan to build the houses on the sites of nine former school buildings was one of the largest single regeneration programmes undertaken by it recent years.

Work on the project will begin next year and it is anticipated that the homes will be completed by 2011.

As part of the contract, construction firm Amec will also be building replacement schools.

The apartments and houses will be built on 85 acres of former school land and will include homes aimed at first-time buyers starting at under 100,000.

It is the biggest individual project in 1.5 billion worth of new-build developments by Barratt on 58 sites throughout the UK announced in recent months.

Barratt chief executive David Pretty said: "Our west Scotland division is already one of the largest housing providers in Scotland and this important partnership project with South Lanarkshire Council will form a major part of its output going forward for the next five years.

"New homes for all sectors of the market, alongside new state-of-the-art schools, can only be tremendously good news for the South Lanarkshire area, where new housing is in seriously short supply."

East Kilbride schools Ballerup Primary, Duncanrig High, Hunter High, John Ogilvie High and St Bride's School will all make way for homes, while the grounds of Earnock High and Holy Cross School in Hamilton will also be used.

The other two schools involved are Cathkin High in Cambuslang and Uddingston Grammar in Uddingston.