Cameron starts on £13m Newport residential scheme
Work to build 43 homes at a former Shropshire care home is now under way, after the developer secured almost £1m in funding from the combined authority.
Audley Court, around a mile from Newport town centre, dates back to 1908 and will be redeveloped as 11 apartments, alongside a further 32 town houses at the 3.3-acre site.
Detailed planning permission for the scheme was granted by Telford & Wrekin Council in 2024.
The start of works on site comes after around £940,000 of gap funding was committed by West Midlands Combined Authority to bring about the redevelopment, which will include 35% of the 43 new homes designated for affordable housing.
The former care facility has been vacant since the Combat Stress charity for veterans closed in 2023.
John Hickman, Group Land Director for Tara Group and Cameron Homes, said: “Obtaining grant funding from the WMCA to enable Audley Court to be redeveloped demonstrates a collective public and private sector focus to see more quality new homes delivered across the West Midlands, within the communities that need them most. We have already secured planning permission and this gap funding makes the project commercially viable in a challenging market.
“We will soon commence work on site, in order to launch the development to the market next year. ”
Access to the WMCA funding was provided by the Property Team at Frontier Development Capital Ltd (FDC) which works closely with property developers to arrange investments from the WMCA’s regeneration funds.
Richard Parker, Mayor of the West Midlands, said: “Too many people are struggling to afford a safe, warm and secure home because of a chronic under investment in affordable housing over too many decades. Our region deserves better which is why my priority as Mayor is to help drive the construction of thousands of new properties that are genuinely affordable.
“Rather than knock down a fine old building, this scheme shows preservation done right. Audley Court will now find fresh purpose, offering 15 badly needed affordable homes that will change local lives for the better.”
The 32 houses and 11 converted apartments are expected to be completed during 2028.
