MP pays a visit to Rugby's growing new neighbourhood - The Rugby Observer

MP pays a visit to Rugby's growing new neighbourhood

Rugby Editorial 19th Aug, 2020   0

MP Mark Pawsey has paid a visit to Rugby’s growing new neighbourhood, Houlton, to discover how the development is thriving in the wake of lockdown.

The Rugby MP met with locals and explored the latest progress at the community, accompanied by Urban&Civic’s Richard Coppell and Joh Thomas.

During the tour, the MP saw the live construction site of Rugby’s newest secondary school, Houlton School, where work is forging ahead to transform the grade II listed Radio Station into a state-of-the-art facility at the heart of the development.

Delivered by main contractor Morgan Sindall, who has continued to operate throughout lockdown, Mr Pawsey and Morgan Sindall’s Darren Eaton discussed the challenges of operating throughout the pandemic.




Despite the restrictions in place, construction work has continued to progress safely within government guidelines and remains on track to welcome its first intake of pupils in September 2021.

He also met with resident Brendan Mitchell for a doorstep chat about life at Houlton, as well as Andy Taylor, head teacher of the development’s first primary school St Gabriel’s CofE Academy, and Elaine Enticott, operator of the award-winning restaurant The Tuning Fork.


With the construction of new houses now resuming on site, the Mr Pawsey also got the opportunity to see construction work continuing on the development’s four housebuilder parcels – Davidsons Homes, Redrow Homes, Morris Homes and Crest Nicholson, where they are now welcoming future residents and regaining momentum on the sales of homes in the area.

Mr Pawsey said: “I was delighted to be able to visit Houlton to see how Rugby’s newest community has been continuing to develop despite the challenges of recent months. It was great to see that the new secondary school, Houlton School, remains on schedule to open in September 2021 and I was also very interested to hear about how work has safely continued during the coronavirus outbreak.

“It was very encouraging to hear that new housing sales are beginning to recover as move into the next phase of lifting coronavirus restrictions. This is a great indication of the resilience of Rugby’s local economy and will really help our area to bounce back.”

Once complete, Houlton will feature 6,200 new homes, a secondary school, three primary schools, a GP health centre, children’s nursery, convenience store and further amenities, and extensive walkways, cycleways and green spaces.

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