Latest Press Releases

Following the success of Amethyst Home’s Sleekburn View development, in South East Northumberland, the Consett based developer has secured planning approval for an additional 48 homes in the area. The Pastures, located in close proximity to Sleekburn View, will offer a mix of seven different house styles including two, three and four bedroomed attached and detached properties, with five...

Pupils at a school in Scotswood have been ‘mucking in’ to boost their learning, thanks to the creation of a muddy play pit. The children have been developing their motor skills through creative play and where we might see just mud, these youngsters have been exploring far and wide. Pupil Naomi said: “I want the animals or dinosaurs in here. Then we can hide them, then dig and find them.” With...

Countryside Partnerships North East has been selected to complete a £119 million housing project on Teesside. Homes England has chosen the construction and regeneration specialist to build around 200 mixed tenure properties at Kirkleatham Green, near Redcar. The developer is already working on phase one of the project - 375 homes for sale, shared ownership and private and affordable rent - and...

A North East developer has bolstered its team by appointing a new buyer. Jasmine Ho, 38, from Birtley, joins Amethyst Homes - which has increased its workforce by three over the past 18 months. Her new role involves responsibility for various aspects around materials purchasing and plant hire on Amethyst’s construction sites. Jasmine’s interest in construction started when The Women in Science...

A land deal has been completed and construction of the first homes is underway at the former Sunderland Civic Centre site. Demolition of the old building began in October last year, but now, following the purchase of the final piece of the site by regeneration specialist, Countryside Partnerships North East, building of the first 69 properties - on what was previously the surface level car park...

A group of 11 women visited The Rise development in Scotswood, Newcastle, to find out about the variety of careers and local employment opportunities available. New Tyne West Development Company (NTWDC) – a partnership between Newcastle City Council and Keepmoat – which has already delivered over 500 homes on the regeneration project, is working with its construction partner, Keepmoat, to...

After lying vacant for over 25 years, one of the most historic sites in Gateshead - the former Freight Depot, just off the Felling Bypass – will now be redeveloped, with 270 new homes being built over the next five years. The Gateshead Regeneration Partnership (GRP) is responsible for overcoming all the challenges that the site posed, including clearing abandoned old railway workings and...

A planning application for a solar farm on a former deep and open cast coal mining site in County Durham has been submitted. Bluefield Renewable Developments Ltd, a UK based renewable energy business, hopes to create a 49.9 Megawatt (MW) solar farm on 158 acres of pasture land, currently used for sheep grazing. The proposed site - Bluestone Farm - lies to the north of Cockfield and south east of...

Plans for a development of 124 new homes in Elswick, Newcastle have been given the green light by councillors. Newcastle City Council’s planning committee considered the joint Bellway North East and Amethyst Homes scheme for land off Westmorland Road. The project has been facilitated by Tynexe, a joint venture company comprising Newcastle City Council and Dysart Developments, which has carried...

A north east regeneration partnership is helping construct careers, creating apprenticeships, jobs, training and educational opportunities for local people. As the UK promotes National Apprenticeship Week (6th– 12th Feb), New Tyne West Development Company (NTWDC), behind the award-winning Rise in Scotswood, will create 75 apprenticeship roles over the lifespan of the project. NTWDC is a joint...

A land deal has paved the way for a further 70 homes at a popular Bishop Auckland development. The purchase of a 6 acre plot to the south east of Countryside Partnerships North East’s Bishops Park Development, near to Auckland Park, opens the door for a third phase of construction on a site where planning consent for around 500 homes was granted back in 2011. This final parcel of land, acquired...

A housing regeneration partnership which has plans to deliver 350 new homes in Sheffield over the next five years, has appointment a second Development Manager. With work already underway on seven sites that will deliver 600 homes, Mark Littlewood, 58 from Bakewell, joins Sheffield Housing Company (SHC) to initially oversee six new developments planned for the city - which will create a further...

A Consett based housebuilder has grown its team with the addition of two development professionals. Technical Manager, Steven Bowers, 46, from Haswell, in County Durham and Assistant Quantity Surveyor, Sophie Charlton, 25, from Stanhope, in Weardale, join the business at an exciting time as it moves towards establishing itself as a 200 homes a year housebuilder by 2025. Bringing over 20 years of...

Bluefield Renewable Developments Ltd, part of the Bluefield Group, has achieved planning permission for four new UK projects providing almost 200 Megawatts (MW) of solar capacity. The solar farms will generate enough electricity to power over 54,000 homes whilst offsetting approximately 36,800 tonnes of CO2 per annum - an emissions saving equivalent to removing over 23,000 cars from the road....

Festive cheer is not in short supply at Sherburn House in the run up to Christmas this year, due to a full advent calendar of daily events. Residents at Beddell House Care Home have already enjoyed a week full of activities, including putting up the Christmas tree, decorating the home, making Christmas cards and watching Christmas films. They were also joined by students form Durham University...

nTwo local organisations which support communities in the north and south east of Sheffield, have received a cash injection, enabling them to help more people across the city. Funding of £20,000 from Sheffield Housing Company (SHC) - which is Sheffield City Council’s joint venture development company with private sector partners Keepmoat and Great Places Housing Group – is supporting projects...

A Consett based housebuilder is homing in on nature, donating materials to help a Northumberland School create habitats for local wildlife. The pupils, from Cambois Primary School, received wooden pallets, piping, guttering and other building materials - as well as a brief lesson in building, from Amethyst Homes Construction Director Gary Coils. They were then set the task of creating new living...

The demolition of the main structure of Sunderland’s old Civic Centre building, is now in progress, paving the way for 265 new homes. Once the site is cleared, Partnerships North East will deliver the ambitious £62M project which - in addition to the delivering new, much needed housing - will create high quality public open spaces and cycling and pedestrian links to improve access routes to the...

Grant funding of £4.6million will support the construction of an additional 231 homes at The Rise, Scotswood, Newcastle. The investment - from The North of Tyne Combined Authority (The NTCA) - forms part of its £32million Brownfield Housing Programme, which is regenerating brownfield sites and unused pockets of land across Newcastle, Northumberland and North Tyneside. It is the second grant...

An athlete who survived cancer thanks to a lifesaving stem cell transplant, will travel to Australia next year for The World Transplant Games. During an astonishing year of sporting success, Lindsey Blackburn, 37, from Middlesbrough, has won gold at both the British and European Transplant Games – in the 3k and 5k Road Races respectively. She has thanked developer Linden Homes for a sponsorship...

Staff from Consett based Amethyst Homes, Dysart and Absolute Civil Engineering completed the 160 mile coast to castle challenge from Tynemouth to Edinburgh, spending 14 hours in the saddle over three days.    They have raised over £4,500 which will be split between North East Homeless and Willow Burn Hospice. There is still time to donate please visit...

Staff from Vistry Partnerships North East continue to promote an open book policy towards mental health, having completed a physical challenge aimed at encouraging conversations around suicide. Joining forces with Vistry Group, over three weeks, staff will walk, cycle, horse ride, swim and hop a total of 1163 miles in relay stages. Throughout the journey participants will carry a book, which has...

Work has started on the third phase of housing development at Birtley, Gateshead. Part of a project which has already delivered 194 homes at The Sycamores and The Aspens, the third phase, the £17.5 million Cedars, will provide 73 two bedroomed, three and four bedroomed homes of which 49 will be for private sale and 24 for shared ownership with partner Home Group. The development is part of a...

Staff from three North East companies are pedalling for pounds in support of two local charities. The group of six from Consett based Amethyst Homes, Dysart Developments and Absolute Civil Engineering, will cycle 180 miles over three days - from Tynemouth to Edinburgh - to raise money for Willow Burn Hospice and North East Homeless. It is anticipated that Richard Bass (53), Paula Spoor (43),...

Bluefield Renewable Developments Ltd, a UK based green energy business, is seeking to engage with Durham communities on plans for a solar farm on a former coal mining site near Bishop Auckland. The proposals would generate significant renewable energy, reduce reliance on imported fossil fuels and help Durham County Council to achieve its ambitious climate change targets. The Bluefield Group...

Twenty large family homes would be built for the Gateshead Jewish community if a public / private partnership that is driving up the quality and choice of homes in the borough is given the go-ahead for its innovative proposal. The scheme is part of a wider initiative to build 58 affordable properties on a piece of land which has stood empty for almost a decade because redevelopment costs were...

One of our most enjoyable projects this year, has been the creation of a video to showcase a public arts programme installed at Norfolk Heritage Park in Sheffield. Delivered by Sheffield Housing Company - which is Sheffield City Council’s joint venture development company with private sector partners Keepmoat Homes and Great Places Housing Group - the six sculptures are inspired by the shapes...

Glanton Show will return on Saturday the 13th August, following an enforced hiatus of four years. Heavy rain and floods in 2019 followed by the Covid-19 pandemic, saw the historic show cancelled for three consecutive years. Joked Show Chairman, Jon Radgick, “Barring a plague of locusts, the event this year will be going ahead!” The country show – with roots that can be traced back over 160 years...

A North East regeneration partnership and Newcastle United Football Club’s (NUFC) Foundation are kicking off a six-week construction skills programme. As part of the course, led and delivered by NUFC Foundation, 14 students were invited to New Tyne West Development Company’s (NTWDC) site, The Rise in Scotswood, Newcastle. The visit provided the opportunity for the group, aged between 16 to 24,...

A region synonymous for its famous walls – Hadrian’s is probably the best known – Newcastle is seeing the first bricks laid on top of what is thought to be one of the biggest residential retaining wall structures in the UK. Community stalwarts Margaret Cooney and Alma Wheeler MBE were amongst those to lay the first brick atop ‘The Great Wall of Scotswood’. Also marking the occasion were Mayor of...

An under 18s football team that nearly folded due to the financial pressures of the Covid-19 pandemic, is celebrating the end a successful season. Consett under 18s side won the final of the Durham FA U18s, Division 2 Cup - at the Washington Football Hub - and are thanking housebuilder, Amethyst Homes, for a sponsorship deal that secured the sides very existence. Playing league winners Felling...

An innovative arts programme encouraging people to enjoy the superb outdoor spaces the city offers, has been installed at Norfolk Heritage Park, Sheffield. Funded by Sheffield Housing Company (SHC) - which is Sheffield City Council’s joint venture development company with private sector partners Keepmoat Homes and Great Places Housing Group - the six sculptures are inspired by the shapes and...

A Consett based developer is building its workforce with the recruitment of two new staff members. The dynamic duo bring a wealth of experience and enthusiasm to their roles at Amethyst Homes. Anne Francis, 71, from Washington, joins as a Home Sales Advisor and Jessica Maguire, 22, from Consett, as an Administration Assistant. Richard Bass Development Director for Amethyst Homes said: “It is...

An £10m scheme in Tynemouth, which offers over 55s the chance to live independently as their needs change, has welcomed its first residents. In partnership with North Tyneside Council, Housing 21’s Clifford’s Mews - built by regeneration and construction specialist Vistry Partnerships North East - comprises 64 one and two bedroomed apartments for people aged over 55. On site services include a...