Stuart Buckley, Managing Director of Warwickshire Property & Development Group (WPDG), looks back on a busy 2025 and discusses the progress which has been made at sites throughout the county

It has been another strong year in our relatively short history which we can reflect on with pride.

We set out four years ago to build a high performing team, strong governance with our shareholder (WCC) and to deliver sustainable, high-quality new homes for people living in Warwickshire, provide commercial space for businesses to thrive in the region, and drive growth across Warwickshire County Council’s lettings portfolio.

In 2025 we have ticked all those boxes, it has been a year of delivery, and that is evident when you visit any of our sites.

That’s been topped off with Develop Warwickshire – our joint venture (JV) with Warwickshire County Council and Vistry Group – getting fantastic recognition for its work this year, as it was named Residential Developer of the Year at Insider’s West Midlands Property Awards.

And, on a personal note, it was a surprise to win Property Personality of the Year at the Insider Midlands Residential Property Awards back in June.

 

Building communities across Warwickshire

Remarkably, it has only been three years since Develop Warwickshire was formed, and this year delivery has accelerated across our key sites.

We recently marked the opening of the showhome at Milby Meadows (Top Farm), the largest site being delivered by the partnership, which presented an opportunity to reflect on how far we have come.

This year we have seen major progress in new homes and infrastructure, it’s a far cry from the site we first started work on in summer 2024. Alongside the new homes, this progression is most visible through the new link road, which ensured that Higham Lane North Academy secondary school opened on time for its inaugural students in September.

With planning permission granted for 531 of the 1,700 homes, the first homes now completed and brought to market, and hundreds more on the way, we are all set for another big year in Nuneaton at Top Farm. This year a further planning application has been submitted by Develop Warwickshire for the next 383 new homes as part of the second phase.

When you couple that with 95 per cent of the homes now sold at Brookmill Meadows, Develop Warwickshire’s other scheme in Warton, it has been another year demonstrating what we can achieve in partnership with Vistry.

To build on that success, our team has been securing new partnerships and bringing forward planning applications that will soon see the first homes delivered directly by WPDG.

We’ve sealed a development partnership with GEDA to deliver up to 30 new homes at Trent Road in Bulkington, with 25 per cent affordable housing to meet the needs of the local community.

We have also expanded our relationship with Seddon Housing Partnerships, as our partner to deliver 20 new homes on a former school site in Hartshill and are also progressing plans with Seddon that should see work start on 54 new homes at the former site of Manor Park School in 2026 following planning approval just this week.

All of this work is delivering on our promise to build important, sustainable and high-quality homes for people across Warwickshire.

 

Building space for businesses to thrive

While developing our first commercial scheme, we identified a need for high-quality small unit space to help innovative businesses grow and thrive in the region.

This has proven true with Sucham Park, our 42,200 sq ft scheme in Southam. By March this year it was already fully let – within only 12 months of construction being competed! A tremendous achievement with our partners Bromwich Hardy that highlights the demand for space of this type in region.

With the confidence of this first scheme behind us, we are now pressing on with plans for our next commercial units at Fusiliers Way, between Warwick and Leamington Spa. We kicked off the year by submitting a planning application in January, with permission granted for the 43,000 sq ft scheme granted in September.

As ever, we are constantly looking ahead and we have further sites throughout Warwickshire where we can provide space for entrepreneurs and SMEs to flourish and more will be said on these as we move into 2026.

 

Sucham Park in Southam

 

Sustainable growth in asset management

Often not in the limelight, our asset management team has had another year generating growth across Warwickshire County Council’s existing commercial portfolio.

The team, operating as Warwickshire Property Management Ltd (WPM), manages the lettings of hundreds of Council-owned properties.

We have completed over 100 tenancy transactions as part of rent reviews/lease renewals this year. Yes, this is about bringing added value for the Council, but it’s equally about building positive relationships with tenants and agreeing a lease that will help them to achieve their ambitions.

There have been several key transactions, including onboarding new farming tenants, longer-term leases with community centres including Wembrook Community Centre and Veterans Contact Point and new country park concessions at Hartshill Hayes, all of which represent positive outcomes.

The team should be very proud of what they have achieved this year with these organisations and many more across the county.

Back, from left to right – Bill Sheppard (Wembrook), Paul Blennerhassett (WPM), Abeda Vorajee MBE (Wembrook), Mike Slemensek (Warwickshire County Council).

Front, from left to right – Haleema (5), James Devereux (WPDG), Jill Sheppard (Wembrook), Cllr Stephen Shaw and Om Gurung (Wembrook).

 

Looking ahead

Our team is growing, our pipeline is strong, and we are in an excellent position to continue delivering development that brings long-term benefits to people who live and work in the region.

We’ll be sharing further details in the New Year on our plans for 2026, but we are already targeting the start on site of three schemes, alongside a further three projects going to planning committee.

That is the timetable we want to match every 12 months as we move forward with residential and commercial schemes that make a real difference to communities in Warwickshire.