Housebuilder hoping to deliver 2,000 units this year

Housebuilder Wavensmere Homes has said it is hoping to deliver 2,000 units this year after completing a major £175 million scheme in Derby last year.

Towards the end of 2025, the firm concluded its 18.5-acre Nightingale Quarter scheme on the site of the former Derbyshire Royal Infirmary, which has delivered 925 new homes, including 125 houses, and eight apartment buildings containing a total of 800 homes.

This year, the company is looking to deliver 2,000 new homes across the region, including more units at sites in Derby.

Managing director James Dickens said: “We currently have five major projects under construction, investing around £3.5 million per month in brownfield regeneration.

“We are keen to deliver a portfolio of 2,000 co-living units across the East and West Midlands, which we would stabilise and operate.

“The projects we are currently constructing have a collective GDV of over £400 million.

“In addition, we have three major Midlands schemes at the planning or pre-construction stage, together with a handful of exciting land acquisitions on the horizon for 2026.”

Established in 2015, Wavensmere specialises in urban regeneration, specifically targeting large, complex sites with unique history and character.

Reflecting on the successful conclusion of the Nightingale Quarter scheme, James said: “We recently concluded our £175 million mixed-use Nightingale Quarter scheme in Derby city centre with a fully equipped children’s play area, outdoor gymnasium and a fallow deer sculpture – gifted to the city.

“This complex redevelopment of the former Derbyshire Royal Infirmary took us six years to construct, and the new public assets and landscaped open space reflect a £1 million investment.

“Nightingale Quarter has been the catalyst for a new wave of city living in Derby and is synonymous with the Wavensmere brand.”

In Derby, Wavensmere is currently onsite at Friar Gate Goods Yard, an 11.5-acre scheme in the city centre.

Having lain derelict since 1967, the nationally significant £80 million mixed-use project is reanimating two landmark Grade II listed buildings into over 110,000 sq ft of commercial space, alongside 276 new build homes.

Meanwhile, pre-construction work has taken place  at Cathedral One – Wavensmere’s prized development site within Derby’s newly revitalised Cathedral Quarter.

195 studio, one- and two-bedroom apartments will be delivered at the Full Street site, within a finely detailed u-shaped nine-storey red brick building.

James concluded: “Wavensmere Homes has grown year-on-year by defying industry challenges and constructing attainably priced houses and apartments in highly sustainable, popular urban locations.

“Our focus on construction deliverability has seen the keys for hundreds of high EPC-rated new homes handed over to our customers across the Midlands.”