Building New Homes On Historical Sites
WhatHouse? hears how Cube Homes builds new properties on sites with fascinating histories…
Chris, what has been your route to becoming managing director of Cube Homes in Manchester?
I have worked in property and construction all of my working life, initially starting on-site as a quantity surveyor before moving into land acquisition, development and ultimately senior management. During my career I have worked across the North East, Yorkshire, East Midlands, North West but also spent some time in the Middle East. It’s great to be back in Manchester and assisting in the delivery of quality new homes. Cube Homes is a great company to work for.
How is the local property market performing in the North West at the moment?
Like many parts of the country, the North West housing market remains buoyant. It will be no great surprise to anyone that our family housing sites are performing the best - as people continue to move out of the city centre looking for a bit more space and a garden. Many of our developments are still within easy reach of city centres like Manchester so even as people now face the return to the office, the commute is still easy.
When you design Cube Homes, is there a particular type of person, or group of people, you tend to think about?
Our homes are designed with lots of bright spaces, contemporary features and many offer our signature floor to ceiling windows.
Just as important, we are also very particular about the locations we develop in; everywhere from golf courses to waterside living. It’s important that anyone who moves into a new Cube Home can be confident that their new home provides a location with a good lifestyle as well as great facilities nearby.
Of course, all projects are different, and we ensure that the homes we build cater for the needs of our buyers; whether that be an urban city dweller or a traditional suburban family. Wherever we build, we aim to impress!
You're currently marketing a scheme called Water Mill Gardens, which boasts an interesting history - can you tell us a little more about that?
Water Mill Gardens has a really interesting history which we have enjoyed sharing with the families who are moving here.
Most recently, the site was home to the very first Cussons soap factory in England and was where the soap bar Imperial Leather was made. However even beyond this, through our working with local archaeologists, we discovered that the site was used as a corn mill as far back as the 1500s, that’s the time of Henry VIII!
Are your buyers able to choose fixtures and fittings when they're purchasing a new home from you?
We always look to be able to give our buyers the opportunity to personalise their new home, by offering a range of finishes for kitchens, tiles, and flooring as well as other enhancements. There are obviously more options available to those who reserve ahead of build, so if you want to have more choices my advice is to get in early!
How do you see the UK property market performing over the next 12 months?
As things stand, I don’t see any downturn in the market as we continue to see more and more people opting for more space and being attracted to more contemporary, informal layouts. To add to this, with rising gas and electricity costs the financial and environmental benefits offered by modern homes will be part of the continued appeal to customers. New homes are simply cheaper to run.
And finally, if you had to give just one piece of advice to somebody buying a new home, what would that be?
Well obviously, buy a Cube Home! Sorry, I couldn’t resist that. But seriously, use a solicitor that either you know or one who someone else can recommend, as so often we see a lot of problems, delays and stress caused by purchasers’ solicitors not acting in a timely and efficient fashion. It’s so sad to see but it happens so often.
Find retirement homes in Greater Manchester
Find Help to Buy homes in Greater Manchester
Find new homes in Greater Manchester