The Royal Borough of Greenwich has agreed to pay £87.5m for 265 new homes in Woolwich, to be let at social rents to people on the council’s housing waiting lists.
The homes – bought from Lovell and built by Lovell as part of the redevelopment of the former Morris Walk and Maryon Grove Estates in Woolwich – will constitute a major share of the council’s commitment to creating 1,000 new council homes in the second phase of its Greenwich Builds programme.
The homes will range in size from one-bedroom apartments to four-bedroom houses, and are set to meet low-carbon emissions criteria.
The council will also receive three commercial units as part of the purchase, which is being funded by retained Right to Buy receipts, borrowing from the Housing Revenue Account and Capital Receipts.
The purchase will accelerate work on the entire Woolwich Estates programme, with the delivery deadline for the redevelopment of the Morris Walk and Maryon Grove estates now set four years sooner than that specified in the Development Agreement.
Greenwich Builds: Phase 2
Leader of the Royal Borough of Greenwich, councillor Anthony Okereke, said: “The redevelopment of the Woolwich Estates is a key part of our plans to regenerate the whole area, and this decision will result in both a major acceleration of this redevelopment while also creating hundreds of new homes for local people on our waiting list.
“We are very happy with this outcome and look forward to seeing the entire programme completed.”
Member for Housing councillor Aidan Smith said: “We’re delighted at this decision, which represents a win-win for our residents, with 265 new council homes being delivered for local people on waiting lists, and an accelerated deadline for delivery of the Woolwich Estates redevelopment.
“This makes for a great start to Phase 2 of the Greenwich Builds programme, which is already creating over 750 sustainable new council homes across the borough and will see rapid expansion in its second phase.”
Stuart Gibbons, regional director at Lovell, said: “This will accelerate the delivery of much needed affordable homes in the borough for local people to live in whilst also driving job creation, apprenticeships and economic growth over the next six years.
“There aren’t many new schemes in London which are building this many family homes.”
Stuart added: “The Lovell vision is to create high-quality schemes with a strong sense of place and community.
“Our approach will ensure the new homes enhance existing connections to local communities, shared facilities, health, transport links and other infrastructure.”
Image: CGI rendering of the Trinity Rise development
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