Building firm branches out into developments

Building firm Stonewood, a specialist in high-specification refurbishment, conversion, and bespoke construction projects, has branched out into housing development with a 38-home project in north Wiltshire.

Somerbrook, at Brook Farm in Great Somerford, is the first foray into development for Stonewood Partnerships, a new offshoot of the Stonewoood Group.

Managing director Matt Aitkenhead took on the Castle Combe-based firm from his father Neill in 2009 in partnership with commercial director and friend Ben Lang.

It was the arrival of former Countryside Properties director Richard Cherry as a director at Stonewood that prompted the move into larger developments.

“We carried out a refurbishment of Richard’s house in Bath. We didn’t discover about his background until much later. He came to us later in 2017 and said ‘I think you could do housebuilding. You’ve got transferrable knowledge and resource; you have got the right attitude and it is something I’d be keen to do with you’,” explained Ben.

“He is brilliant because he will give us the benefit of his vast experience in this sector. He has a light touch, he’s very sage, very wise and very ambitious.”

Somerbrook, which borders a farm first established in the 1500s, comprises a mixture of two, three, four and five-bedroomed homes that are terraced, link detached or detached.

The village-style homes are sensitively integrated around a village green, open spaces, an unobtrusive access road and designated parking for every dwelling.

Somerbrook has been designed by Stonewood’s in-house architects, Stonewood Design, who took their design cues from the village’s former pub The Masons Arms – now a private home – which opened in 1841.

Echoes of its stone frontage and late Georgian/early Victorian style can be seen throughout the Brook Farm development.

“Our challenge will be to make sure the housebuilding side shares an ethos and builds the same reputation as the contracting side for building responsibly, to a high quality and with attention to detail,” said Matt.

“We all want to be equally proud of the new build houses as our refurb and conversion projects. With the team we have assembled we are hugely confident of achieving this.”

Stonewood Partnerships aims to be a serious player in the sector and have set themselves a target of building 300 new homes a year within five years. Director of land and planning Gavin Calthrop already has more sites in the pipeline.

The group employs more than 200 staff and works with more than 300 sub-contractors. It is busy looking for extra office space and Stonewood Partnerships has just moved into its own HQ in Tormarton on the Wiltshire/Gloucestershire border.

Stonewood Group, whose turnover now exceeds £50 million, has strengthened its management structure with the promotion of Sam Smart as managing director of Stonewood Partnerships and Jamie Priest and Mike Hopkins as directors of Stonewood Group.

Pictured: Stonewood commercial director Ben Lang, director Richard Cherry and managing director Matt Aitkenhead