Living Space Housing goes on the hunt for residential land with Land Manager appointment

Solihull-based Living Space Housing has appointed Conor Chamberlain as its Land Manager to grow the affordable housing specialist’s area of operation across the length and breadth of the Midlands. 

Living Space is a development-led residential planning, design and construction services solution for Registered Providers, PRS Funds, the NHS, Universities and Defence Estates, which provides an end-to-end service, enabling more homes to be delivered with greater efficiency. Having launched to the market in 2019, it already has a total of 406 residential plots under control, representing a combined construction value in excess of £61million.

Conor Chamberlain has joined Living Space from Elan Homes Midlands. Prior to that, he was a Land Buyer for Spitfire Bespoke Homes for close to four years. His first role after graduating from Northumbria University was as a Graduate Planner for Hallam Land Management. He subsequently obtained a master’s degree in Urban and Rural Planning from the University of the West of England.   

Conor Chamberlain, Land Manager for Living Space Housing said: “The demand for affordable housing has arguably never been greater, however supply has been detrimentally affected by the impact of Covid-19. Living Space is already on track to deliver 580 affordable homes over the next two years, and I have been brought on board to seek out development sites capable of delivering between 30-100 plus units. We are exploring both immediate and longer-term prospects, so will consider sites with or without full planning consent. 

“Our core areas are the West Midlands conurbation, Shropshire, Staffordshire, Herefordshire, Worcestershire, Gloucestershire, Warwickshire and we are also looking at opportunities within the East Midlands. Living Space is well-funded and operating in a really exciting space within the residential marketplace. We are keen to talk to landowners about what we are able to bring to the table.” 

Living Space is currently on site delivering affordable homes in Kidderminster, Telford and Cradley, which is on the outskirts of Malvern. Further schemes are coming online in Shropshire, Herefordshire, Warwickshire and Oxfordshire. 

Steve Davies, Managing Director of Living Space Housing said: “Where we differ from others working in the affordable housing market is our ability to design, build and sell homes for private sale. At our largest current scheme – Malvern Oaks in Herefordshire – we have successfully combined 65 per cent affordable housing, with the remaining 35 per cent of the scheme selling very well on the open market. To make other schemes viable, the requirement for an element of private development may be a much smaller percentage, or indeed, as with a number of our other schemes, private development may not be needed. We can be entirely flexible and maximise the value and potential out of all suitable sites.”