Enfield launches new drive to build affordable homes

Enfield Council has launched a new drive to fund and build affordable and private rental homes in the borough, it has been announced.

A deal between Enfield Council and Kier Property has enabled funding to raised for the development, which in turn will make it easier for the council to retain private properties.

Under the partnership deal, Kier will build new homes on seven small areas across the borough. On six of the designated sites, the existing bedsits that are present have been deemed as no longer fit for purpose, while the seventh site was a disused garage. However, once the building of the homes gets underway, the new scheme will comprise of 94 residential homes, made up of 37 affordable homes (20 social for rent; 17 for shared ownership). It will also include 57 private rented homes.

Commenting on the development, Councillor Ahmet Oykener, Enfield Council’s Cabinet Member for Housing & Regeneration said: “This approach is helping us to deal with an urgent need for quality housing for local people.

"The appointment of Kier Property as our chosen development partner to complete the Small Housing Sites project ensures that we produce good council owned property for the families that need it.”

The development will comprise of a mix of one, two, three and four-bedroom homes, all within three miles of Enfield town centre.

Work on the first couple of sites is set to begin next month. There is also a drive to ensure that these homes are as eco-friendly as possible, and conform to the ‘Code for Sustainable Homes’; which is the government's environmental assessment method for rating and certifying the performance of new homes.

Phillippa Prongue, director at Kier Project Investment, said that Kier was delighted to be working with the council.

She added: "This is a highly innovative risk-sharing partnership agreement between the Council and Kier Property to finance and build new housing, and we expect to see similarly bold initiatives from other local authorities as they seek to follow Enfield’s lead in addressing the shortage of housing.”

Published 3rd November, 2014

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