Mayor Boris Johnson has appointed two consortia to construct new developments at Silvertown Way and Pontoon Dock in Newham “with the specific aim to deliver a significant proportion of private-rented homes.”
As part of their deal with City Hall, both sets of developers will be subject to a covenant requiring that they retain the private-rent housing for at least ten years.
The 2.1 hectare Silvertown Way site will be redeveloped by Galliford Try Plc working with OPAL LAND LLP and provide more than 1,000 homes including 347 private rented, 232 for affordable rent, and 154 for affordable home ownership.
There will also be 86,000 sq ft of new “employment and non-residential space.”
A further 200 homes – 137 private rent, 42 affordable and 31 shared ownership – will be built at Pontoon Dock by Bouygues Development and a consortium backed by the London Pensions Fund Authority and Grainger plc.
The project will also include works to improve access to the nearby Thames Barrier Park.
Mayor Johnson said: “Boosting house building is my number one priority, with City Hall leading the way with a range of creative approaches to address a 30 year failure to build enough homes.
“These two great new developments will turn surplus public land into new homes for Londoners.
“It’s important for London’s economy to support the growing rental market, providing top quality homes and management, together with the reassurance of longer tenancy agreements.”
The Mayor called on more institutional investors “to come forward and invest in quality homes for Londoners” and help create new jobs in the construction industry.
Commenting on today’s announcement London Assembly member Darren Johnson said: “The Mayor should ensure that this covenant guarantee security of tenure and rental prices is part of the contracts for all the land he controls.
“He should also be getting developers and landlords to sign up, by making it part of the Mayoral rental standard. One of the big challenges for London is to encourage the big financial institutions and pension funds to invest in new housing and to dump all the property speculators who currently run City Hall.
“This covenant provides the stability needed to guarantee long term reasonable returns and we need the Mayor to make this the new normal.”
