Latest update - August 2024
Councillors agreed the name of the new road serving the site and the names of the development's four apartment blocks at a meeting of full council in July.
Navigation Way was chosen as the name for the new road, recognising the role the railway and canal networks played in Rugby's industrial growth in the 19th century.
The names of the four apartment blocks celebrate Rugby's status as the birthplace of the game. Clayton House, Davenport House and Sherrard House were all named after former Rugby School pupils who played for England in the first rugby international in 1871, while Lindon House commemorates the work of Rugby leathermaker Richard Lindon, who manufactured the first rugby footballs at his shop in Lawrence Sheriff Street.
Despite spells of bad weather, the council's construction partner, Willmott Dixon, has rescheduled site works in the development programme to keep the project on schedule.
Phase one of the development (the north-eastern half of the site) looks set for substantial completion in August 2025, with phase two (the south-western half of the site) scheduled for completion in January 2026.
Willmott Dixon delivers a regular newsletter to near neighbours of the site detailing the development's progress.
Construction operations hours are 07:30 to 18:00 Mon-Fri, and 08:30 to 13:00 Saturday. Access to the site for all construction traffic will be directly off Clifton road.
If you need to get in touch with the site team, your main point of contact is:
Properties will be 100 per cent affordable rented low rise housing and apartments retained and managed by Rugby Borough Council. These will consist of 80 one and two-bedroomed flats and maisonettes, and 20 two, three and four-bedroomed houses. They will be a mix of two- and three-storey buildings designed to complement the Victorian-era housing on Clifton Road and surrounding streets. They will be energy efficient and low cost for tenants to heat and maintain.
The project team submitted a planning application for the development in March 2023.
The video below shows a timelapse of the deconstruction of the Biart Place site.
Homes England has awarded a £6.8 million grant from its Affordable Homes Programme 2021-2026, while the Coventry and Warwickshire Local Enterprise Partnership (CWLEP) has awarded £2 million via the Government's Getting Building Fund.
The grant from Homes England means the development can be 100 per cent social housing, while the grant from the Getting Building Fund has covered the site clearance costs.
A report to councillors considered at a meeting on 26 July 2022 explained Rugby was considered a 'high-pressure affordability' area, meaning Homes England had agreed to provide funding towards the development on the basis it was 100 per cent social housing.