Willmott Dixon joint venture secures Welsh regeneration role

Willmott Dixon Developments and Cityheart have been appointed as Strategic Development and Investment Partner for Blaenau Gwent and Torfaen county borough councils in South East Wales. The joint venture will assess strategic sites and develop potential regeneration and investment opportunities across both authorities, working alongside their existing development teams.

The appointment follows procurement through Pagabo’s Developer-Led Framework and establishes an initial 12-month programme to review sites across the two council areas. The partners will identify opportunities involving new homes, employment premises, infrastructure improvements and projects intended to attract investment.

Blaenau Gwent and Torfaen are working together as federated authorities to increase the development expertise and capacity available for their regeneration programmes. Their shared approach allows the councils to consider opportunities across both boroughs while retaining responsibility for decisions concerning their own land, funding and individual projects.

The two authorities agreed in July 2025 to pursue a joint strategic development and investment partner. Torfaen’s cabinet approved the necessary appointment arrangements on 15 September 2026, followed by Blaenau Gwent’s cabinet on 5 October. Both decisions authorised the use of Pagabo’s framework, subject to the completion of procurement and legal assurance requirements.

The councils subsequently confirmed the appointment on 29 October, identifying Willmott Dixon Developments and Cityheart as the organisations that will undertake the strategic development work. Their partnership combines development planning, regeneration, investment and project delivery experience in support of the authorities’ established objectives.

The initial programme will concentrate on examining the councils’ strategic sites and assessing their potential for development. This work will involve determining which opportunities are sufficiently viable to justify further commercial appraisal, technical investigation and preparation of detailed proposals.

Land availability, existing infrastructure and planning requirements can have a substantial influence on whether a regeneration site is capable of progressing. Development teams must establish how the proposed use of a location relates to existing buildings, access arrangements, utility provision and the surrounding environment before a construction scheme can be defined.

Previously developed sites may also require ground investigations or other enabling work. Former industrial activities can leave buried structures, altered ground conditions or infrastructure that must be assessed before new buildings and associated services can be designed.

The nature of those requirements will depend on the individual sites selected for further consideration. Feasibility work can establish the investigations and preliminary designs needed to understand the physical constraints, allowing the councils to compare potential developments on a more informed basis.

Commercial assessment will take place alongside the technical work. A proposed project must accommodate the cost of preparing the land, providing infrastructure and constructing the intended buildings, with those requirements considered against funding availability and the proposed development model.

Some projects may be suitable for conventional development agreements, while others could require longer-term partnerships or more complex investment arrangements. The structure adopted for any scheme will depend on the participating organisations, the assets involved and the responsibilities established through the relevant contractual process.

Willmott Dixon Developments and Cityheart will bring experience of assembling and progressing such arrangements. The companies will work with council officers to prepare development proposals, business cases and assessments of investment opportunities, allowing individual schemes to be considered through the authorities’ governance procedures.

Torfaen’s September cabinet decision authorised negotiation of the initial commercial relationship at a cost of up to £300,000 plus VAT over 12 months. The figure relates to establishing and operating the strategic development partnership during that period, rather than the value of construction projects that may eventually emerge.

Individual developments will require separate business cases, funding approvals and decisions before progressing. The councils retain control of whether land is committed, investment is authorised or a proposed scheme moves towards procurement and construction.

The arrangement also provides for the development partner to engage stakeholders and investigate external funding opportunities. Those activities can influence how projects are structured, particularly where proposed housing, employment accommodation or public infrastructure depends on funding from several sources.

Housing developments may require agreements concerning land, tenure and the eventual ownership or management of completed properties. Employment premises can involve different commercial requirements, including the intended use of buildings, infrastructure capacity and the availability of occupiers or investors.

Infrastructure improvements can also influence the feasibility of neighbouring development. Access roads, utility networks and other supporting works may need to be delivered before a site can accommodate the proposed buildings, making the sequence and funding of those improvements part of the wider development appraisal.

The partnership will support the councils’ Joint Local Development Plan objectives, connecting the assessment of individual sites with their wider planning and regeneration strategies. Proposed projects will still need to follow the applicable planning and statutory procedures before construction can be authorised.

Blaenau Gwent and Torfaen have identified housing provision, employment opportunities and sustainable economic growth among their priorities. The councils intend to use the additional development capacity to progress complex opportunities where commercial or physical constraints have previously limited delivery.

The appointment builds on an existing relationship between Cityheart and the wider Willmott Dixon Group. Willmott Dixon has delivered projects in the region including Ebbw Vale Leisure Centre and the Gwent Archives, providing experience of public-sector construction and working with local authorities.

Cityheart’s regeneration activities add development and investment expertise to the joint venture. The two family-owned companies will combine their resources when assessing sites and preparing options for the councils, with each proposed development progressing according to its own requirements.

Chris Wheeler, national head of development for regeneration at Willmott Dixon Developments, identified the review of the councils’ strategic sites as the partnership’s immediate task. The work will focus on finding opportunities capable of delivering homes, employment and community benefits through future investment.

The joint venture will use the initial 12 months to establish which sites warrant more detailed investigation and to prepare proposals that can be considered by the relevant authorities. Subsequent development activity will depend on those assessments and the decisions made by each council.

The appointment gives Blaenau Gwent and Torfaen a shared development partner for preparing their next regeneration opportunities. Its immediate work will involve assembling a viable project pipeline, assessing delivery and funding requirements, and identifying schemes suitable for further approval before construction commitments are made.