London names nine housing procurement zones

Councils in London are set to kick-start a raft of developer procurements after the Greater London Authority named the first nine housing zones in the capital, set to deliver 29,000 homes.

The nine zones are the first of a total of 20 to be announced by the Greater London Authority (GLA) by the summer this year. Deputy mayor for housing Rick Blakeway said those announced this week would share £262m of public funding to build the 29,000 homes over the next 10 years.

The GLA estimates the funding, designed to help speed up the construction of homes by unblocking infrastructure hurdles and funding affordable homes, will help lever in more than £9bn of private sector investment over the period.

The housing zones are areas earmarked for intensive residential development over the next decade, and those already identified include 28 sites on which developers have already been found.

However, the GLA says councils will be looking for development partners for a further 24 sites in the nine zones. These include the 850-home Gascoigne Estate in Barking & Dagenham; sites for 1,000-plus homes around the Harrow Civic Centre; and for the 450-home redevelopment of the York Road and Winstanley estates within the Clapham Junction housing zone.

Developers including Bouygues, Land Securities and Grainger are among those already set to be brought in to build the homes, alongside a raft of housing associations.

Bouygues and Grainger will be two of several developers to work to build 2,295 homes in the Barking town centre housing zone, while Land Securities will work with the London Borough of Harrow on its 5,294-home “Heart of Harrow” housing zone. Housing associations Peabody, Hyde Group, Origin and Catalyst are among those already identified to deliver some of the homes, with 3,000 affordable homes due to be built in the next three years.

The GLA and London boroughs will be organising events to link developers with key opportunity sites and projects emerging within the housing zones.