The Royal Borough of Greenwich’s Cabinet has agreed to pay Lovell Partnerships £87.5m for the purchase of 265 homes, to be let at social rents to people on the Council’s housing waiting lists.
The homes will be built as part of the redevelopment of the former Morris Walk and Maryon Grove Estates, and 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, additional to the 750 homes being delivered in the programme’s first phase.
The homes will range in size from one-bedroom flats to four-bedroom houses, and will meet low carbon emissions criteria, with thermal efficiency measures and low energy requirements to reduce running costs for tenants.
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.
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, commented: “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.”
Header image shows an artist’s impression of the redeveloped Morris Walk South estate.
