Welcome home in Castle Road’s Millpond House
News release issued:
A new facility providing short-term accommodation for people whilst they find permanent homes is now open in Kidderminster.
Wyre Forest District Council has built Millpond House on the corner of Castle Road and New Road in Kidderminster town centre. It will provide temporary accommodation for people while the council works with them to secure a more permanent home. The authority has worked with project managers MAKE Developments, Hive Projects, WT Partnerships and construction company Stepnell to deliver the 20 new accommodation units.
The imposing three-storey building has a shared kitchen diner and lounge areas on all floors and an outside space for residents. There is also office space, parking and attractive landscaping to the site.
Councillor Chris Rogers, Wyre Forest District Council’s Cabinet Member with responsibility for Housing, Health and Wellbeing said:
“It’s great to see Millpond House open its doors. The provision of short-term housing is a key part of our Corporate Plan 2023-26, and the completion of Millpond House is a crucial milestone. We are supporting individuals to find permanent housing and creating a positive impact within our local community.”
Stepnell is the council’s construction partner. Adrian Barnes, the company’s Regional Director said: "We are very proud to have been able to support Wyre Forest District Council with the delivery of Millpond House. The prominent development on Castle Road will provide much needed short-term accommodation whilst families and individuals wait for a permanent housing provision. At Stepnell, we pride ourselves in supporting the communities in which we live and work, providing not only new facilities for the council but positive social value impacts in the community."
“This thoughtfully designed scheme provides much needed residential space and addresses the need for short term accommodation.”
Patrick Hickey is a Director at MAKE Developments. The company project managed the scheme. He said:
“We are delighted to have worked with Wyre Forest District Council and Stepnell on such a valuable and socially important project. This scheme, with its focus on providing short-term accommodation, is now set to make a meaningful difference to the lives of those it directly impacts.”
Patrick O’Neill Senior Quantity Surveyor at WT Partnership said:
“We are extremely proud to be involved with the delivery of this amazing feel-good scheme which will provide vital short-term accommodation to the local area.”
Local organisations, enterprises, and community interest groups have been involved with Millpond House since building work started. In August 2024, local young artists unveiled their artwork which was displayed on the external hoardings surrounding the construction site on Castle Road.
Councillor Chris Rogers from Wyre Forest District Council concludes:
“Now the building is complete, the next stage of the process will involve getting the property ready for occupation and we hope to welcome the first residents soon.”
Group photo above shows left to right: Patrick Hickey Director MAKE Developments, Mark Baker Project Manager Stepnell, Leader of Wyre Forest District Council, Councillor Marcus Hart Leader, Councillor John Byng Wyre Forest District Council, Councillor Chris Rogers Wyre Forest District Council, Kate Bailey Head of Strategic Growth Wyre Forest District Council celebrating the completion of Millpond House, Kidderminster
Have a further look at Millpond House via the carousel of images below.
Millpond House opening: 26 February 2025
The video shows Councillor Marcus Hart, Leader of Wyre Forest District Council; Mark Baker, Project Manager at Stepnell; Peter Williams, Contracts Manager at Stepnell and Emma Cornock, Temporary Accommodation and Support Manager at Wyre Forest District Council discussing the project at Millpond House's opening event on Wednesday 26 February 2025.
Commentary by Councillor Marcus Hart, Leader of Wyre Forest District Council:
It is fantastic to be inside Millpond House here in Kidderminster. This is accommodation for homeless people that the District Council are providing themselves. It's been a £4 million capital investment. Very grateful to Stepnell our construction company who we've worked with to deliver this project on a redundant brownfield site, a completely underutilised car park here in Castle Road and it's great, three years down the line having granted consent for this facility to be open, which will support vulnerable residents across our district.
Commentary by Mark Baker, Project Manager at Stepnell:
At Stepnell, we are proud to have been part of this project to deliver such a facility for the local community to be able to use.
Commentary by Peter Williams, Contracts Manager at Stepnell:
It is a credit to Mark and the team. The amount of effort and time they've spent on the job and that is seen in the quality and attention to detail of the facility that's been completed.
Commentary by Emma Cornock, Temporary Accommodation and Support Manager at Wyre Forest District Council:
I just wanted to say thank you to all of the teams that have been involved in getting this project over the line. We've worked really hard together and we've put a lot of hours in, and just to say how excited I am about opening the building and getting our new clients in and working alongside them to get them tenancy ready. It's fantastic how this building will have a massive impact on the community and hopefully a knock on effect on the amount of rough sleepers we have in Kidderminster.