Onward Homes Development Welcomes First Residents in Crewe

Housing association Onward Homes has welcomed the first residents to its Signaller’s Croft Development near Crewe, with long-term goals to deliver 449 mixed tenure homes at Signaller’s Croft over the coming years.

Danielle (35), Anthony (34) and their three children were the first residents to move into Signaller’s Croft, only 14 months after work recommenced on the stalled development site. After years of insecure renting, which included two Section 21 (no-fault) evictions, Danielle and Anthony are putting down firm roots at Signallers Croft. Shared ownership has enabled the young family to secure an otherwise unaffordable 4-bedroom home in their local area.

Danielle said: “It’s beautiful. It has felt like home since day one. We also love the design of the homes; they’re just different. Shared Ownership has given us peace of mind and security, and we know [our home] can’t just be taken away.”

“We really wanted to be close to Sandbach and Haslington, but to try and buy a 4-bedroom house there would be impossible – you’re looking at half a million pounds.”

Onward first broke ground at Signaller’s Croft (Basford East) in 2021, but construction stalled in 2023 when the original contractor, Lane End, entered administration. In 2025, national housebuilder Lovell, part of the Morgan Sindall Group, took over delivery of the first phase of new homes on site, following a lengthy selection process by Onward.

Stephen Heverin, Interim Executive Director of Growth at Onward, said: “It’s really satisfying to welcome our first new residents to Signaller’s Croft. We are pleased to be working with such a dedicated partner in Lovell, who are helping us deliver on our promise to customers. Our commitment to provide hundreds of affordable homes in this part of Cheshire has never wavered. We look forward to creating a vibrant community over the coming years, filled with modern homes that are affordable to rent or buy and affordable to run in the long term.”

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Signaller’s Croft is Onward’s third project with housebuilders Lovell, who are currently delivering two other affordable schemes for the housing association in Merseyside.

Tahreen Shad, Regional Partnerships Director, at Lovell said: “Onward is a key partner for Lovell, working on three live developments in the region, to deliver much needed affordable homes across the North West. At Signaller’s Croft, we are proud to be delivering a key strategic site in Crewe bringing 139 affordable homes. It’s always a proud milestone to see the new community come together and families moving in. The journey with Onward has been collaborative and our site teams have worked well to accelerate build and develop good quality homes at handover.”

Funding for Signaller’s Croft is being delivered through Onward’s strategic partnership with Homes England, which is supporting the housing association to build 5,000 homes by 2030.