Birmingham-headquartered urban regeneration specialist Wavensmere Homes has appointed Ryan Pritchard as a technical manager to bolster the team supporting its major construction projects.
Established in 2016, Wavensmere’s live projects have a collective GDV of over £400m. The five major developments currently under construction are seeing circa £3.5m per month spent on brownfield regeneration. An additional three major Midlands schemes are at the planning or pre-construction stage, with a handful of land acquisitions on the immediate horizon.
Ryan Pritchard joins from Countryside Partnerships, where he worked for three years as a technical manager, leading the technical delivery of projects from initial concept through to completion. Prior to that, he was a design co-ordinator at Bellway Homes, undertaking design management and having an active involvement with on-site construction. Prior to these in-house roles, Ryan completed his Masters in Architecture from De Montfort University in 2013 and worked as an associate with Leicester-based Design Studio Architects Ltd for six years.
Ryan Pritchard, technical manager for Wavensmere Homes, said:
“I am really excited to join a company with such a strong reputation for urban regeneration. There are so many technical challenges involved in redeveloping complex brownfield sites, requiring the coordination of multidisciplinary consultant teams and specialist building contractors.
“My qualifications and career to date has been a blend of architecture and residential construction projects, so this role is an amazing opportunity. I’m managing the design and technical delivery stages of Arkle Court in Cheltenham and Wolverhampton Canalside South, where homes will be handed over to customers within the coming weeks. Arkle Court’s history as a coach station dates back to 1931, while Canalside South was a former British Steel site. With canal frontage along two sides and an active railway line lying above the arches that dissect the site into two halves, this is a transformational example of city centre urban regeneration.”
Ben Clarke, development director of Wavensmere Homes, said:
“The growth of our technical team is crucial to the smooth running of each of our live projects. Ryan’s expertise and passion for residential-led regeneration makes him the perfect fit for Wavensmere.
“Every brownfield site has different challenges and as we expand our area of development beyond the Midlands, we will continue to take a distinct approach to delivering mixed-tenure communities. In addition to the 2,700 houses and apartments we are delivering across our five live construction sites, we’re in the process of securing new development sites for a further 1,500 plots.“
Wavensmere Homes is 17 months into the two-and-a-half year regeneration and development programme for its £50m Arkle Court development in Cheltenham’s Central Conservation Area. The 147 houses and apartments are designed to sensitively enhance the street scene, including the Grade II* listed St Margaret’s Terrace. 75 three-bedroom houses are at various stages of construction and are becoming ready for occupation. Stonework is ongoing for the 72 one- and two-bedroom apartments.
Family homes are now available to reserve off-plan at the £150m Wolverhampton Canalside South scheme, located in the heart of the city next to the transport interchange. The first 120 two- and three-bedroom houses are at various stages of construction, with over £25m already invested on land assembly and remediation, site enabling, groundworks and construction. In total, 533 energy-efficient houses and apartments are being delivered, complemented by a range of commercial and community amenities.