Councillors from the London Borough of Bexley took part in a short event at Old Farm Park Sidcup on the 17th December to mark the start of work on the site in 2020.
BexleyCo Homes, the Council’s wholly-owned development company, now owns the site and plans to start work to enhance the park in January. It has appointed United Living, a provider of refurbished and new-build living solutions, as its contractor. Work will take place in two phases.
Phase 1 will involve improvement works to the western section of the park. While Phase 2 will see the construction of 58 houses and apartments on the eastern part of the site, including homes for sale and affordable homes to rent and purchase through shared ownership.
“I am confident that local people will be very pleased with the park, its new facilities and the ecological environments that are being created,” said Councillor Teresa O’Neill OBE, Leader of the Council. “Using our own company means we have control of the scheme and can ensure that the quality is right. The way the land is used will benefit the community and money generated from the sale of homes will benefit the borough and our residents.”
Parts of the western section of the park are expected to reopen in the spring and all the park improvements should be completed by the summer. Construction of the residential element is scheduled to be completed by summer/autumn 2021.
Michael Hill, Bexley Co’s Chairman commented: “This marks Bexley Co’s first development site to deliver quality homes for local residents. We are aiming to provide an exemplar approach to the design, marketing, sale and management of our new homes, starting with this exciting development at Old Farm Park.”
BexleyCo is providing almost £1m to cover the cost of the park improvements. This will be made up of £600,000 for the works and a commuted sum of £340,000 for 20 years maintenance.
United Living will be keeping in touch with residents living next to the site from the New Year through a regular newsletter.
London Borough of Bexley created BexleyCo to support its growth agenda. The company will build quality housing for local people that will set the standard for other developers. Using the company for projects like Old Farm Park will also generate a financial return that will help protect local services.
