Quantum Development Finance Provide £15m Loan Funding for Wavensmere’s Milford Mills in North Derbyshire

Quantum Development Finance has agreed to provide Wavensmere Homes with a £15m loan to enable the £22m redevelopment of Milford Mills, which overlooks the River Derwent, located between Belper and Duffield in north Derbyshire.

The development will comprise 69 new homes to be delivered on the historic brownfield site, which is within the Derwent Valley Mills UNESCO World Heritage Site. Accessed off Derby Road (A6) in the centre of Milford village, the redevelopment of former commercial premises will feature 42 two- and three-bedroom houses and 27 one- and two-bedroom apartments, within a four-storey building overlooking the River and Mill Lade.

With development finance in place, Wavensmere’s team is continuing to work alongside officers from the Borough Council to enable construction to commence in January.

This marks the second time Quantum Development Finance and Wavensmere Homes have teamed up to deliver brownfield regeneration within Derbyshire. Earlier this year, the London-based specialist property lender provided a £15m loan for the construction of the final phase of the £175m Nightingale Quarter scheme in Derby city centre. The ‘E6’ block incorporates 79 one-bedroom and 24 two-bedroom apartments, with a raft of green energy features.    

Following the success of our initial loan at Nightingale Quarter we are delighted to continue this partnership on Milford Mills. At Quantum Development Finance we pride ourselves on building long-standing relationships, especially with one of the leading regeneration specialists in the UK.

The former 18th Century cotton mill housed some of the world’s first mechanised industrial spinning factories. This highly unique project will incorporate retention of historic features, including the Mill Lade that now feeds a hydroelectric power plant downstream, along with the repair of all original stone boundary walls. We look forward to witnessing the transformation of this brownfield site into attainable family homes, and it is testament to Wavensmere Homes that both sites also have strong sustainability credentials.

– Sam Hudson, Head of Portfolio Management at Quantum Development Finance,

Wavensmere Homes spent over £250,000 on archaeological investigations on site at Milford Mills throughout 2023, while amendments to the original planning application were being reviewed. The revised planning permission enables the 4.7-acre development to be gas free and fully compliant with new building regulations. The houses will be installed with air source heat pumps, while the apartments will have electric heating, with solar PV panels fitted to the roof of the building to generate renewable energy.

The site will be further complemented by 1.5-acres of public open space and the recent restoration of the Grade II listed Dye House by Chevin Homes to form a 4,500 sq ft commercial premises.

Milford is one of the most sought-after villages in north Derbyshire, with the area’s historical importance reflected in the UNESCO World Heritage status. We are grateful to Quantum Development Finance for the funding to deliver this important £22m redevelopment project. Such is the pent-up demand for housing in Milford, we have already been approached by over 600 local people keen to secure a new home here, with 21 having first refusal of their choice of plot.

Milford Mills will have a clear focus on sustainability and renewable energy, while delivering natural stone facades that reflects the traditional architecture of this village and the nearby market town of Belper. We look forward to being able to start construction for the 69 riverside houses and apartments in the coming months.

– James Dickens, Managing Director of Wavensmere Homes

Milford village offers local amenities including the Elephant and Peacock bar and restaurant, Strutt Arms hotel, schooling, and an array of scenic countryside walks. The neighbouring village of Duffield is a mile away, while the market town of Belper is under two miles away. There are train stations at both Duffield and Belper offering frequent services across the region and beyond. Derby city centre is 6.5 miles away via the A6, which is the main road into Milford.

The UNESCO world heritage site was inscribed in 2001 in recognition of the importance of the Derwent Valley’s water-powered industries to the Industrial Revolution and the universal significance of the River Derwent textile mills. The UNESCO zone runs from Derby in the south to Matlock in the north. Milford Mills straddles the centralising spine of the River Derwent, critical to the area’s growth and current character, as it bends northwards to the main vehicular route of Derby Road.

Wavensmere Homes has become one of Derby’s most prominent residential developers, with the multi-award-winning Nightingale Quarter becoming one of the finest regeneration and restoration assets in the region. The former Derby Royal Infirmary on London Road – which had laid derelict for a decade – has been transformed into a vibrant new community, including over 900 houses and apartments.

The Birmingham-headquartered housebuilder recently commenced work on site to redevelop Friar Gate Goods Yard in Derby city centre. The nationally significant £75m mixed-use project will reanimate two landmark Grade II listed buildings into over 110,000 sq ft of commercial space, alongside 276 new build homes.

Across the city on Full Street, Wavensmere Homes and Wilson Bowden Developments’ £30m proposals for the redevelopment of one of the final plots of vacant land within Derby’s newly revitalised Cathedral Quarter were recently approved by the City Council’s Planning Committee. 195 studio, one- and two-bedroom apartments will be delivered within a finely detailed u-shaped nine-storey red brick building at the former police station site.

Wavensmere Homes has other major urban regeneration schemes located in central Birmingham, Cheltenham, Ipswich and Wolverhampton, with further projects across middle England in the immediate pipeline. The Edgbaston-headquartered housebuilder has around 3,500 new homes either under construction or in planning.

To register your interest in the new homes to be released for sale at Milford Mills, email info@wavensmere.co.uk