1,500 ‘build to rent’ homes planned for key workers

Ambitious: a computer image of how the new development in Bermondsey might look

The aristocratic landlord who owns swathes of “oligarch country” in Belgravia and Mayfair is to build 1,500 rental homes for key workers such as nurses and teachers.

The proposed £500 million “build to rent” development in Bermondsey marks a dramatic change of direction for the Grosvenor property business controlled by the Duke of Westminster and his family for 340 years.

A draft masterplan unveiled at a public consultation — starting today — shows that the company plans to build as many as 11 new blocks of up to 25 storeys and retain one of the existing buildings on the former Peek Frean biscuit factory site.

Grosvenor’s executive director for major projects in London, Simon Harding-Roots, said the scheme would provide affordable accommodation, some of it discounted to market rents, for local people. He said: “We’re not going to build and flog off, we will be here to operate it so it’s got to work for us. All the units should be affordable in the broadest sense of the word. We don’t want to create a student ghetto or a yuppie ghetto or any of one concentration of type. We certainly don’t want a gated community.

“We want to create a long-term community feel rather than people saying ‘I’ll rent for a year until I can afford to buy’. We expect people to grow through the project starting in a studio and moving to a bigger flat. Why should they ever move away? It’s a different approach.”

Grosvenor, which has assets of over £12 billion, plans to invest further in the area to build a third London estate alongside its West End holdings in two of the world’s most exclusive neighbourhoods. Mr Harding-Roots said: “Mayfair and Belgravia are known for their ultra-high-end properties but there is a lot of social housing in both, a lot of it on land that has always been part of the Grosvenor holdings.”

The plans, drawn up by architects Kohn Pedersen Fox Associates, include rooftop spaces and ground-floor shops, restaurants and workshops. There will also be a 600-place secondary school. Craig McWilliam, chief executive of Grosvenor Britain & Ireland, said: “London’s housing shortage is too often creating polarised outcomes, with homes for the few who can afford to buy them, and those allocated social rented accommodation. We are sharing our ambitions in Bermondsey to meet the needs of many on low- and middle-incomes who are locked out of London’s housing market.

“We want to help create one of London’s greatest neighbourhoods for people of mixed incomes, backgrounds and life stages.”

The 12-acre site was occupied by Peek Frean from 1866 to its closure in 1989 after a takeover. The area was known as “Biscuit Town” because of the smell that emanated from the factory. Grosvenor intends to apply for planning consent in September and hopes to start work by the end of next year with completion around 2023.

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