For over 15 years, Top Wighay farm was considered unviable for development due to significant infrastructure costs and access constraints. Despite being identified for future housing and business use in local planning policy, the site had stalled without essential enabling works and funding support.

Unlocking the site’s development potential required a coordinated strategy, securing funding, delivering the critical infrastructure and establishing a viable route to market.

Managed through the Regeneration and Major Projects workstream, Arc Partnership acted as both an enabler and deliverer - coordinating design, construction and funding partners, and drawing on the strength of our local supply chain.

By embracing the ethos of working with Government to bring forward new housing, we supported the Council to secure £5.8 million of grant funding from Homes England, with a clear delivery route that met funding timescales through the SCAPE Civil Engineering framework.

Initiating the development’s infrastructure works led to securing an additional £3m funding from D2N2 LEP, alongside direct Council investment.

Drawing on our in-house capability, we provided project and cost management to coordinate design, construction and funding partners as well as lead multidisciplinary teams including Via East Midlands, Balfour Beatty, SCAPE and their delivery partners, and our wider supply chain.

This collaboration demonstrates the benefits of public sector-led regeneration, using in-house expertise to deliver value and pace, and we’re proud to play an integral part in delivering this fantastic project for Nottinghamshire County Council.

These initial infrastructure works allowed for our team to secure outline planning consent for;

• 805 homes, of which 30% will be affordable homes
• 8.5 hectares of employment land
• A new primary school
• Local centre with retail and community uses
• Sustainable drainage and green infrastructure strategy

These works also unlocked 44 hectares of additional land which will provide a further 900 housing units, positioning the site as a major growth catalyst for the region.

Following the completion of infrastructure works, outline planning consent and a serviced site, Nottinghamshire County Council marketed the housing element of the development to the Homes England framework of preferred partners.

This resulted in the selection of Vistry Group, one of the UK’s leading affordable and mixed-tenure housing developers.

Once complete, Top Wighay will provide:

• 763 new homes, including 269 affordable and 97 private rented units.
• A mix of two-, three-, and four-bedroom homes, maisonettes and apartments.
• 397 will be on sale on the open market through Vistry’s Linden, Bovis and Countryside brands.

The deal received the "Highly Commended Deal of the Year" award at the 25th East Midlands Property Dinner Awards in September 2025.

Construction of show homes is underway with expectations that first homes will be available in the summer of 2026.

8.5 hectares of Top Wighay is dedicated to a new employment zone, strategically located within close proximity to the M1 corridor, East Midlands Airport and Nottingham city centre. The site offers great connectivity throughout the UK, making it an ideal location for businesses seeking a well-connected regional base.

The employment zone also forms part of Nottinghamshire County Council’s wider office rationalisation programme. As part of this, the Council approached Arc Partnership to design and project manage Oak House, a new, BREEAM Excellent office building that has relocated key frontline services to Top Wighay. This new anchor building was complete in early 2025, establishing the foundation for marketing the remaining employment land and attracting future investment.

To ensure the site was fully connected and supported sustainable travel options, our teams worked closely with local transport organisations to integrate new bus routes serving the local area. As a result, a frequent bus service now links the site to Hucknall town centre and easy access into Nottingham city centre.

Over the next ten years it is anticipated that the site will result in the creation of over 1,000 full time jobs and deliver up to £873m* in economic output (Pegasus Group, 2020*).

The Top Wighay regeneration demonstrates how Arc Partnership’s integrated model brings together estate strategy, design, project delivery and funding expertise, turning long-term ambitions into deliverable, high-impact projects.

Together, we have:

• Unlocked public sector land for development that the market long considered unviable.
• Delivered enabling infrastructure on time and within funding requirements.
• Secured £8.8m of external grant funding.
• Enabled delivery of 805 new homes and new employment land.
• Supported local growth, job creation and sustainable transport connections.
• Creation of over 1,000 full time jobs.
• Up to £873m* in economic output over ten years (Pegasus Group, 2020*).