Local MP Ben Coleman joined the Guinness Partnership to celebrate the completion of 95 social rent homes in the London Borough of Hammersmith & Fulham.
The Kirkham House development in Fulham provides a mix of one-, two-, and three-bedroom apartments, including 10 adapted homes with disabled parking.
Catriona Simons, group chief executive at The Guinness Partnership co-hosted the visit in partnership with Dean Summers, divisional managing director of St James and St William, and Craig Miles, managing director of St James and St William.
They were joined also by Kate Henderson, chief executive of the National Housing Federation (NHF) and Will Campbell-Wroe, chief executive of The Stoll Foundation, which provides homes for veterans at another block on the King’s Road Park site.
The homes will be owned and managed by The Guinness Partnership and have been built by developer St William, part of the Berkeley Group, on a prime brownfield site. The delivery of these homes is part of a Section 106 agreement between St William and Hammersmith & Fulham Council, with grant funding provided by the GLA to enable all 95 homes to be delivered as social rented tenure.
Simons said: “These new homes mean a lot to us. Some of the earliest Guinness estates are in the surrounding area (Draycott Avenue 1892, Fulham Palace Road 1901) and some of our most recent homes are in the next-door Chelsea Creek development (also by the Berkeley Group).
“Those early buildings, which still provide social housing today, remind us of the importance of creating homes that last. These 95 new homes at Kings Road Park will continue to provide high quality homes for generations to come and we look forward to welcoming residents to their new homes very soon.
“We would like to thank our partners on this project including the Greater London Authority and developers St William, as well as the team at the London Borough of Hammersmith and Fulham, who have all been part of getting us to this important stage.”
The King’s Road Park site will include numerous restored listed features, including the UKs oldest gas holder – which will be retained as a public park, a war memorial, former research laboratory and chief engineer’s office. There is also six acres of public open space and 70,000 sq ft of commercial and community space.
Welcoming community
Ben Coleman, MP for Chelsea and Fulham, said: “This is exactly the kind of development we need more of across the country – high-quality social homes on brownfield land. Hats off to Hammersmith & Fulham Council for their effective negotiation with developers. I look forward to supporting Guinness as they work with residents to make this a welcoming community for all.”
Dean Summers, divisional managing director of St James and St William, said: “We are incredibly proud of King’s Road Park and completing another 95 social rent homes is a fantastic achievement for all of the partners involved. I think the quality of this building speaks for itself and reflects Berkeley’s commitment to creating truly tenure blind neighbourhoods where people are proud to live.
“We are looking forward to welcoming the first residents to Kirkham House next week and I want to particularly thank the team at London Borough of Hammersmith and Fulham and the GLA for working with us and The Guinness Partnership to unlock these much-needed homes.”
Kate Henderson, chief executive of the NHF, said: “It’s been fantastic to be here with colleagues from The Guinness Partnership to mark the completion of 95 high quality purpose built new social homes, an important demonstration of the vital role of Section 106 planning obligations in delivering truly affordable housing in London.
“It’s so positive to see that these new social homes include three bed apartments, as well as adapted homes, meeting the needs of families and older people alike. This development is a great example of how housing associations can work in partnership with developers and councils to deliver the truly affordable homes to meet the needs of local communities.”
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