Homes England will release £300m of funding to accelerate construction at three major London housing developments.
The three schemes, in Brent Cross, Silvertown and Barking Riverside, have a total capacity for up to 20,000 new homes.
Loan funding, from the government’s £4.5bn Home Building Fund, will be used to invest in infrastructure necessary to speed up the construction of thousands of new homes in the capital.
In Brent Cross, a £148m will enable the Brent Cross South Limited Partnership (BXS LP) – a partnership between Barnet Council and developer Argent Related – to fund the land and infrastructure works needed to unlock the delivery of 6,700 homes.
The homes will now be built four years faster than they would have been on a 180-acre brownfield site which stretches from the North Circular Road to Cricklewood Lane between Hendon Way and the Edgware Road.
The BXS scheme also includes offices and retail as well as leisure facilities, new schools and community facilities.
The Silvertown Partnership, consisting of Starwood Capital Group and Lendlease, will use a £105m to unlock 3,000 new homes at Silvertown Quays.
The major 62-acre brownfield development in the Royal Docks, Newham, also has planning approval for office, retail and leisure space.
Millennium Mills, a former mill and local landmark, will be brought back to life and a new pedestrian and cycle bridge across Royal Victoria Dock will link the site to Custom House Crossrail station to make it one of the best-connected regeneration sites of its size in London.
The funding will tackle high up-front infrastructure costs, restoring Millennium Mills and dock walls, which have previously been a barrier to development of the scheme.
The third tranche of £56m will be used to deliver upfront infrastructure at Barking Riverside, a 179-hectare development of over 10,000 new homes.
Barking Riverside is being delivered by a joint venture between the Mayor of London and housing association L&Q, who have committed to providing a wide range of housing tenures and up to 50 percent affordable housing.
Plans for Barking Riverside also include 65,000 sq m of commercial and leisure space, as well as healthcare facilities, seven new schools, large public open spaces and a new London Overground station.
Gordon More, Chief Investments Officer at Homes England, said: “Despite the unusual and challenging situation the housebuilding sector, and indeed the whole country, is currently facing, Homes England remains open for business and committed to helping our partners deliver much-needed new homes.
“By investing in projects on this scale and allowing funding to be recycled into future phases of development, we are able to support significant schemes where commercial lenders may not. This means these three major developments can invest in the infrastructure they need to deliver in these uncertain times and accelerate the delivery of new homes.”
