About RTB

For many years the council put together plans to improve the borough but nothing really came of them. This was because the council didn’t have sufficient development capacity to turn its ambitions into reality.

These days it is common practice for councils to form joint venture organisations, to help them to access skills that they may not have in house. Under the last administration Rossendale council decided to establish its own joint venture organisation, primarily to help the council to develop the old valley centre site.
The partners for the joint venture were selected following a strict, and lengthy European procurement process.

The Rossendale Together Barnfield Joint Venture Partnership includes Rossendale Borough Council, Barnfield Investment Properties Ltd and Together Housing Group (the parent company of Green Vale Homes).

Each partner has a 33.333% share hold in the company. For every £1 (RBC) of public sector money invested £2 (BCL & TH) private sector is invested too.

Barnfield have a wealth of experience working with local Council’s, including current partnerships with; Pendle, Burnley, Hyndburn and Ribble Valley.

The Together housing Group is one of the largest housing associations in the North, and brings development experience, financial capacity and grant funding to the partnership to develop homes for sale, rent, rent to buy and shared ownership.

The selection of the joint venture partners was approved by Full Council on

26th September 2012 – the partnership was formally established on the 4th of February 2013

Each of the partners can appoint three Directors; currently these are;

Rossendale Borough Council (RBC) -Stuart Sugarman, Chief Executive; Cllr Anne Cheetham and Cllr Andy MacNae

Barnfield Construction Ltd (BCL) – Tim Webber (CHAIRMAN), Chairman and Managing Director, Andrew Couper Finance Director and Gareth Smith, Project Director and Head of Regeneration

Together Housing (THG) – Kevin Ruth Deputy Group Chief Executive, Hilary Brady Group Head of Development, Ian Clark Group Director of Strategy and Communications

We do have adopted a Co-optee Policy but at present we have no one currently co-opted onto the Board.

So far the partnership has delivered the following:

• 20 new affordable homes at Burnley Road, Bacup
• 12 one and two bedroom apartments for the over 55s in Waterfoot town centre, at the former Mytholme House site
• 7 new homes in Broadway Haslingden
• The refurbishment of the retail units at New Hall Hey which now home Pets at Homes, TK Maxx and M&S Simply Food
• 16 one and two bedrooom apartments for the over 55’s on Burnley Road, Rawtenstall

The following projects are currently in development

a. Flats for the over 55s for rent at Burnley Road, Rawtenstall

b. Proposals for the re-development of Rawtenstall Town Centre on the site of the former valley centre.

c. Bacup Town Heritage Initiative (THI) – heritage restoration project

d. New Hall Hey – BCL are working in partnership with the RTB Partnership to bring forward M&S Food, TK Maxx and Pets at Home at the New Hall Hey Development.  Phase 2 consists of a 5 acre development site

The Board meetings are hosted by the partners on a rotational basis throughout the year