Author: Pete Kelsey

The McGoff Group, based in Altrincham, is gearing up to submit a planning application for a mixed use scheme in Congleton.

The proposed plan includes a state-of-the-art care facility for the Group’s sister company New Care, 14 stylish townhouses and 53 retirement apartments.

The site on Morley Drive is adjacent to a conservation area and as such, the Group has been working closely with Cheshire East’s planning department on the application, ensuring the proposed plans are sympathetic to the locality and incorporate renewable energies. A listed bridge (not within the Group’s ownership) will also be retained, with the McGoff Group already liaising with the Canal & River Trust.

Within the proposed plans is a new multi-modal link; a pathway for cyclists and walkers that runs along the Macclesfield Canal and leads directly to Congleton Train station.  Tree lined and suitably lit, the pathway is a superb new addition to the site which will not only look appealing but also benefit the local community.

The land and buildings, commonly known as Morleys, was formerly used as a dried fruit production plant.  The tenant was operating on a short-term tenancy agreement and has been slowly winding down operations at the site over the course of the last two to three years whilst they completed works at a more modern factory.  They have now migrated all business to the new premises.

Chris McGoff, director at the McGoff Group, says: “Having worked with Cheshire East, plus other relevant organisations, we are really looking forward to submitting our application for a mixed use development on Morley Drive in Congleton in the coming months. 

“With the current tenant relocating, moving their industrial operations out of the town, we can transform the brownfield site and convert its use to residential, which will better serve the local community.  By providing townhouses, retirement apartments and a care home, we are creating a multi-generational scheme that will give Congleton residents the opportunity to live in a sustainable location close to the town centre.”

The McGoff Group plans to use modern methods of construction, utilising met frame structures, and will create jobs, not only during the build process but also once the development is complete through the operation of the care home.

Nine residents from Grosvenor Manor Care Centre, located on Hatchmere Drive, recently took part in a fantastic intergenerational sing along event in Chester.

The residents have been singing with pupils of all ages from local schools across Chester for the last few months, building up to the main performance, which took place at The Hammond, a performing arts school and college on Mannings Lane.

The project was co-ordinated by Amanda Wrigley from Live the Beat, a company she set up in 2017 to provide creative music classes that centre around learning and holistic development for children and adults. 

The aim of the event was to bring young and old together to share their love for music and create an enhanced sense of community in Chester, with residents from five other care homes involved and children from local nurseries too.  The youngest at the event was 10 days old, whilst the eldest was 100 years old.

To ensure the event was a success, Amanda also worked with Hollie McDiarmid, a Social Prescribing Link Worker in Chester for Healthbox and Fountains Medical Practice, as well as Sue Egersdorff from Ready Generations.  Together they were able to liaise with the wellbeing coordinators within the care homes and source funding from the Cheshire Community Foundation for the fortnightly choir sessions.

Involved in the project from day one was Lisa Forth, Senior Wellbeing Coordinator at Grosvenor Manor.  She says: “This has been an amazing project, not only for our nine residents who took part in the performance, but for all residents at the home who were involved in the build up.  All residents have thoroughly enjoyed singing each week, learning new songs and practising their solo parts. 

“We are very grateful to Amanda for creating the project and organising the event, which involved a total of six care homes in Chester, local schools and nurseries.  It was a huge undertaking, but the final performance at The Hammond, in front of family and friends, made it all so very worthwhile. 

“The event, and indeed the whole project, has created fantastic memories for our residents.  What was initially a one-off project will now become a regular monthly activity within Grosvenor Manor, with Amanda and local schools visiting the home to sing with residents.”

Amanda Wrigley, adds: “Bringing children and the older generation together has shown to have huge health and wellbeing benefits, so I was keen to arrange an intergenerational sing along event in Chester.  The residents really came alive when they were singing, and interacting with children, which was wonderful to see.

“I’m delighted that Boughton Heath Academy and Kids Planet Great Boughton will remain our music and singing partners, allowing us to continue the regular sing along sessions at Grosvenor Manor.”

Rebecca Pates, wellbeing assistant at Grosvenor Manor, concludes: “The feedback we have received from relatives of the residents involved has been incredible.  They have been blown away by the effort put in by all and how much enjoyment their loved ones have gained from the project.  It’s super news that we can continue to work with Amanda on a monthly basis within Grosvenor Manor.”

With build progressing well at The Downs Quarter in Altrincham, the McGoff Group’s latest residential development located on The Downs, a range of 31 one, two and three bedroom apartments will soon be available to move into.

The new build development, worth circa £17.5 million, is really starting to take shape with the McGoff Group now able to confirm a phased approached to practical completion. 

Apartments housed within two buildings, The Place and The Blok, will be ready for occupancy after Easter, with other properties at the development scheduled for completion later this year.

Reside Manchester has been appointed by the McGoff Group to head up the apartment sales at The Downs Quarter.  Following a positive start for the property market so far in 2024, when inflation fell below 4%, mortgage lenders reduced rates with further cuts expected, and house prices on the up, Reside Manchester’s appointment comes at the perfect time.

Rhiannon Durston, Sales & Marketing Director at Reside Manchester, says: “The Downs Quarter is a fantastic scheme nestled away in affluent Altrincham, where demand for apartment living is high due to its award-winning town centre, thriving business scene and close proximity to Manchester city centre.  The market is buoyant right now and with positive news for buyers since the start of the year, we’ve already secured several sales, a testament to the design of the development and its location.  We expect demand to soar in the coming weeks and months as practical completion nears.”

The McGoff Group also worked with Cheadle-based property lender Together, which has a £6.8billion loan book and provided a multi-million pound development finance facility to kick-start the major development scheme in 2022.

Simone Milner, relationship manager for development funding at Together, said: “We were impressed by the vision of the McGoff Group and Consensus and are proud to have been able to play our part in realising their ambitions through providing a finance facility to revive this ambitious scheme out of receivership.

“The development is in an excellent location in the heart of a thriving and affluent market town with great amenities and transport links. It’s fantastic to see The Downs Quarter nearing completion as it will provide much-needed affordable homes, opening doors for people such as first time buyers, families and downsizers.”

The Downs Quarter will deliver three distinctive buildings, each enjoying its own unique style yet designed to blend together and complement the historic charm of the prime town centre setting.

Paul Danks, director at the McGoff Group, adds: “Working with Reside Manchester is already proving to be the right decision with a number of reservations secured to date.  With both inflation and mortgage rates falling, not forgetting practical completion is fast approaching, there has been a surge of interest in the apartments at The Downs Quarter, which is great to see.” Prices for the apartments at The Downs Quarter start from £270,000.  For further information or to request a brochure, please contact Reside Manchester on 0161 837 2840 or visit www.residemanchester.com

Work has begun to demolish largely derelict buildings to make way for 80 brand new affordable and sustainable apartments by Old Trafford Cricket Ground.

Southway Housing Trust and McGoff Construction Ltd are working to deliver the scheme which is situated opposite Old Trafford Metrolink station and will be made up of one five-storey and two four-storey apartment blocks.

All the homes will be offered on affordable tenures to meet the needs of first-time buyers and other qualifying households.  Two of the three blocks will provide much-needed affordable rent homes. Apartments in the third block will be available for purchase via shared ownership allowing first time buyers to access a brand-new home that would otherwise be out of reach.  All the flats will have their own balcony or access to outdoor space and there will be communal gardens for the enjoyment of residents. 

Electric car charging points and measures including energy efficient heating and hot water systems will help reduce utility costs for the new apartments and enhance the sustainability of this exciting development.

Victor (Old Trafford) Ltd, a joint venture between Victor at MC Construction and the McGoff Group, submitted a joint application for the scheme with Southway Housing Trust, which was approved at Trafford Council’s Planning Committee in June last year.

Greater Manchester Combined Authority has given funding to the project through the Brownfield Housing Fund (BHF) under the government’s Levelling Up programme, and Homes England has provided funding from the Affordable Homes programme.

Representatives from Trafford Council including Cllr Tom Ross, Leader, joined senior leaders from Southway Housing Trust, McGoff Group, Victor, Homes England and GMCA on site to mark this first phase of the development, which is a testament to the collaboration and commitment of all.

Mike Purcell, Development Director, Victor said:

“We are delighted to see our regeneration ambitions, which began in 2016, progress to an on-site project due to the hard work and perseverance of the various parties involved. We look forward to seeing these quality and truly affordable homes take shape.”

Dean Johnston, Group Managing Director, McGoff Construction Services said:

“It’s great to be joined by the other stakeholders on site today to mark the first phase of this exciting and innovative development.  We are looking forward to getting the construction process underway and delivering these much-needed quality homes for the Trafford community.”

Karen Mitchell, Chief Executive of Southway Housing Trust, said:

“We’re really pleased to be working with partners to bring a site which is largely derelict back into use and to be able to provide affordable homes in an area with excellent transport links. Developing homes in that area within the budget of local people can be really challenging, and we’re delighted we can help meet this need in Trafford’s communities. We will continue to look for more opportunities to work with our partners to provide high quality, sustainable and affordable homes for people in housing need.”

Cllr James Wright, Trafford Council’s Executive Member for Housing and Advice, said:

“We are delighted to be partners in this exciting project, which is one of a number we’re embarking on in Trafford as part of our commitment to provide more homes across the borough. Getting on the housing ladder is becoming an ever-greater challenge in the current climate but this development aims to make that dream achievable. Added to that, by incorporating energy efficient heating and hot water solutions, these new homes will be more affordable to run while aligning with our corporate priority of addressing the climate crisis.”

Cllr Ged Cooney, GMCA Portfolio Lead for Housing, said:

“The GMCA’s Brownfield Housing Fund is playing an important role, unlocking brownfield land as we work with partners to deliver new housing across Greater Manchester. It’s great to see work begin on another development, one that will provide much-needed affordable, sustainable, and high-quality homes.”

Estimated completion is December 2025.

The McGoff Group has acquired land in Kent for a mixed-use development, comprising a 67 bed care facility and 49 bungalows.

The four acre site is located directly off Canterbury Road in Herne Bay, which was formerly a derelict site with old and damaged out buildings, often subject to vandalism. 

With a combined build contract of circa £21million, the McGoff Group will now transform the land into a stunning development, retaining part of the existing structure and restoring the façade, bringing an historic part of Herne Bay back to life.  This will be combined with the new build, creating a carefully considered, aesthetically attractive scheme.

The bungalows, aimed at the over 55s, will be sold to private buyers and will be overseen by Downtown Asset Management, the Group’s property management arm of the business.

The care home will be the first in the South for award-winning New Care, also part of the McGoff Group, and will provide outstanding residential, dementia and 24hr nursing care in a luxurious environment.

The build programme will take approximately two years, with several hundred employed over the course of construction.  Approximately 100 jobs will also be created by the care home once open and fully operational.

Chris McGoff, Director at the McGoff Group, comments: “We are thrilled to have acquired this land, bringing the Group’s exceptional development design to Kent.  We are renowned for our residential schemes, all of which deliver luxury homes with additional elements in areas where people want to live, which is exactly what we have planned for Herne Bay.

“Furthermore, the care home will be the first in the South for New Care, who already have 15 well established and highly regarded care facilities across the North West, Midlands and Yorkshire.”

Work on site is due to start imminently, with the McGoff Group also planning a second phase of the development, which will include 72 apartments, in the near future.

McGoff Construction has officially broken ground on its latest development; a £13m intergenerational scheme on the corner of Langham Road and Marlborough Road in Bowdon, south Manchester.

Located on the site of the former Bowdon Mercure hotel, within the Bowdon Conservation Area, the innovative multigenerational development will feature a purpose-built 51-bed care home and children’s day nursery with approximately 90 places. 

Prior to breaking ground, the company has, in recent weeks, been busy preparing the land for build and overseeing the demolition of much of the hotel.  Two historic buildings have been retained, the Hydro building and Hawthorn Lea villas, which will be incorporated into the pioneering development.

A joint venture with Patrick Properties, it is the second such development for the McGoff Group in Cheshire, building on the success of its first pioneering intergenerational scheme in Lymm that has been successfully operational for more than 12 months, and is close to the company’s headquarters on Altrincham Business Park.

When complete, the development will result in a thriving new hyperlocal community bringing young and old together regularly to spend time in each other’s company which has many proven health, social and wellbeing benefits for all.  It will also result in significant job creation with more than 100 new roles available at the care home and approximately 30 at the nursery.

Group managing director for McGoff Construction Services, Dean Johnston, commented: “We’re delighted to officially get started on site in Bowdon, transforming the derelict hotel site into much needed care facilities for some of the oldest and youngest member of our local community. Following the success of our flagship first intergeneration scheme in Lymm, we have seen first-hand the incredible impact this kind of setting can provide for the local community and are very much looking forward to delivering this in Bowdon.”

Renowned for delivering exceptional residential, nursing, respite and dementia care services in a comfortable and safe environment, the Group’s multi award winning care home provider, New Care, will take responsibility for the care home.  Purpose-built to the highest clinical and design standards, the new care home will feature 51 bedrooms, each with its own private wet room, stylish communal lounges and dining rooms, plus a nail bar, hair salon and landscaped gardens.

The nursery will be operated by Back to the Garden, the Group’s day nursery concept which focuses on child-led natural learning through activity and play.

Other McGoff Group businesses will also be involved in the construction process; Panacea Building Systems will supply the lightweight steel frame, integrated roofing and bespoke drylining installations for the care home and McGoff Group Facilities Services and Edencroft will cover off the passive fire and mechanical and electrical services respectively for both the care home and nursery.

With construction now underway, practical completion for the nursery is due in April 2025 and the care home May 2025.

Representing its ninth deal with the McGoff Group, Puma Property Finance has provided a £13m funding facility for the development with financial advice provided by Alantra.