- Weaver Vale Housing Trust launches shared ownership and sales arm to help tackle housing crisis
- Fury as council approves tower block with no social housing
- £30m Homes England loan brings more new homes to Basildon
- Clarion outlines ambition to deliver hundreds of affordable homes in Brent
- Peabody to build over 1,000 homes on former prison site
- Planning consent gained for 3,000-home regeneration site in East London
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Posted 27.03.19
Weaver Vale Housing Trust: Article link
Weaver Vale Housing Trust (WVHT) has launched a new shared-ownership and sales arm as part of its bold ambitions to build 500 new homes by 2021.
WVHT, which owns more than 6,200 homes across Cheshire, has launched Prospa Homes in a bid to increase housing choice across the county and help tackle the housing crisis.
As a not-for-profit housing provider, all profits raised from the new venture will be invested back into social housing in Cheshire - helping to improve housing provision and support communities.
Wayne Gales, Chief Executive of WVHT, said: "The launch of Prospa Homes marks a proud and pivotal moment in the history of WVHT and will enable us to deliver on our ambitions to build hundreds of desperately needed new and affordable homes of all tenures across Cheshire."
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Posted 25.03.19
GMB: Article link
GMB, Britain's general union, has slammed the decision of Barking and Dagenham Council to approve the demolition of the Crown House tower block and replace it with 396 homes - none of which are social housing.
A plea for a viability study to see if dwellings for homeless people and those in temporary accommodation could be included in the plans was rejected by the council.
This is despite Barking and Dagenham saying there are now more than 7,000 households on its housing waiting list, significantly up from 4,587 in 2018.
Instead of social housing, the council's regeneration firm Be First has said that of the 396 homes planned they will build 169 'new affordable and shared ownership homes for the council'.
A typical two-bedroom flat will be offered at about 56% of market rent or at the London affordable rent of 45% of market rent.
The average monthly rent of a two-bedroom home in Barking and Dagenham is now £1,188
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Posted 19.03.19
GOV.UK: Article link
More than 760 new homes and almost 8,000 square metres of retail and commercial space are being built in Basildon following a £30 million funding boost from Homes England.
More than 550 new homes are being built at the Beechwood site, including up to 110 affordable homes - whilst 210 homes and over 7,000 sq m of commercial space will be developed at Laindon. The funding will allow Swan Housing Association, who are working in partnership with Basildon Borough Council, to develop both schemes at the same time.
Almost all the homes will be built off site at Swan's factory in Basildon, using pre-manufactured modular construction techniques.
Homes England has agreed the loan as part of its £290 million Estates Regeneration Fund, which offers finance to kick-start and accelerate the regeneration of estates.
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Posted 11.03.19
Clarion Housing Group: Article link
Clarion Housing Group has further shown its commitment to helping to tackle London's acute housing crisis with the purchase of a major new site in Brent.
The £109 million scheme in the Alperton housing zone contributes to Clarion's wider ambition of delivering around 650 new homes in the Borough over the next three years - more than 550 of which will be affordable.
The Group has also just completed a deal for the Minavil House site, on which 251 new homes will be built. Of the new homes, 215 will be for shared ownership and 36 for affordable rent. The development will be completed in 2022.
On a separate scheme in Alperton, building work is well underway for 135 shared ownership and affordable rented homes on a disused industrial site at Abbey Wharf.
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Posted 08.03.19
Mayor of London: Article link
The Mayor of London, Sadiq Khan, has announced a landmark deal to secure more than 600 social rented and other genuinely affordable homes on the former Holloway Prison, site following its sale by the Ministry of Justice.
The deal, which involves a £42 million loan from the Mayor's Land Fund, has enabled Peabody housing association to buy the site.
It requires Peabody, working in partnership with private developer London Square, to start work by 2022 on over 1,000 homes, of which at least 60% must be social rented and other genuinely affordable homes.
The Mayor set up his Land Fund, comprising £250 million of City Hall investment alongside nearly £500 million secured from the Government, to bring land forward for housing development more quickly and ensure at least 50 per cent affordable housing on public land sites.
The money recovered from Land Fund investments will be recycled to bring forward more land to build homes and unlock further opportunities across the Capital.
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Posted 07.03.19
L&Q: Article link
L&Q and Countryside have formally received planning consent for the 3,000-home Beam Park regeneration site in East London, following the signing of the Section 106 Agreement.
With 3,000 homes across 29 hectares, Beam Park was the second largest housing scheme in UK to gain planning approval in 2018.
Preparatory works on the site are now underway before construction can begin, which will transform the derelict site of a former Ford manufacturing plant into a new and vibrant destination.
The development is one of only three regeneration schemes in London delivering 3,000 homes and providing 50% affordable housing. At Beam Park, this equates to 1,513 affordable homes.
Construction will commence this spring and sales of the new homes are due to launch later this year, with the first homes ready in 2020.
