Khan announces 100% affordable homes scheme

Sadiq Khan has announced plans for a new development with 100 % affordable homes for first-time buyers.

The London mayor announced last week the former Webbs Industrial Estate in Walthamstow has been released for development.

The derelict site was bought by the GLA and the Catalyst housing association has been selected as the preferred development partner.

Catalyst will work in conjunction with partners including Swan Housing Association and architects C.F. Møller Architects.

The site will now be transformed with 330 homes, along with a creative hub providing more than 3,000 square metres of new affordable workspace and artist studios, a park area to serve both existing and new residents, and retail space in the heart of the Blackhorse Road area.

It is the first time any mayor has bought and then sold land – completed in just over a year – with the additional profit being reinvested into more genuinely affordable homes for Londoners.

The land was bought in July last year after plans to build a free school on the site fell through.

Previous developers of the site had an outline planning consent with an affordable percentage of homes as low as three per cent, but now a sale has been agreed with Catalyst and the derelict buildings will make way for new homes which will all be affordable, creative workspace, artist studios and retail space with work to clear the site starting later this year.

‘For too long there was a severe lack of genuinely affordable homes being built in London, which fuelled the housing crisis and is robbing many Londoners of their dream of buying their own home,’ said Mr Khan.

‘I’m doing all I can to help fix London’s housing crisis, but it will take time to turn things round. I’ve been honest from the start – this is going to be a marathon, not a sprint.  But we’re already taking big steps forward – my new planning rules will help raise affordable housing levels in new developments, and my £3.15bn funding deal with Government will help to build an extra 90,000 genuinely affordable homes to rent and buy.’

The leader of Waltham Forest council, Clare Coghill, added: ‘This is a great step forward to helping meet this need. At the same time, we want to grow the local economy and create jobs and opportunity, so the additional creative hub provides much needed space for businesses, artists and residents. It is a win-win situation for all.’

While Catalyst’s executive director of property and growth, Tom Titherington, said: ‘Our shared urban development experience on mixed use sites, has informed the design of the scheme which centres on an ambition to create a new and bold development in Waltham Forest, with a strong sense of character.

‘As a long-standing partner of the mayor of London, we are committed to working in partnership with the GLA. The benefit of selecting two housing associations is that any profit is reinvested in developing more affordable housing.’