Housing and care group, Mears, which has a base in Brockworth, has landed a huge government contract to deliver new housing nationally.

Mears New Homes has been appointed by the Homes and Communities Agency to its new four-year, £8bn housing framework.

The project, known as Delivery Partner Panel 3 (DPP3,) aims to ease and speed up procurement of new housing, including different types of residential development such as open market housing of various types, starter homes, affordable homes, homes for rent and extra care developments. To be appointed, Mears had to prove its capability in both contract and development-led projects.

The previous framework, DPP2, generated 46,000 new homes and an estimated total value of £8bn. DPP3 will last a period of four years and will generate development contracts and projects of around 50 to 500 units. It aims to procure homes in different ways, for example custom build homes, homes built using off-site manufacture and provision of self-build plots.

With the housing market once again slowing down and demand exceeding supply, the promise of more new homes is good news for buyers.

Mears employs 156 staff in the social housing sector in Gloucestershire. The company is number 64 in Punchline's Top 100 employers 2017.

Mears has been successfully appointed to all five geographical areas - North East Yorkshire & Humberside, North West, Midlands, East and South East (excluding London), and the South & South West.

Tony Biddiscombe, Mears New Homes Land and New Business Director, said: "This is a fantastic win for Mears, as a national business with a branch network operating across each of the five areas, and one which will undoubtedly generate opportunity for Mears New Homes across the country."