Specialist housing association Women’s Pioneer Housing (WPH) has selected HUB and Bridges Fund Management to redevelop a key site on Wood Lane, White City, in an innovative partnership that will deliver a substantial new residential building, as well as 80 new homes for WPH residents, more than doubling the number currently on site.
Following a competitive OJEU procurement process, WPH, which provides affordable housing for women, selected developer HUB and specialist social impact investor Bridges as its development partners for the site, which is ideally located immediately opposite the new Imperial North Campus and just north of the redeveloped BBC Television Centre.
The 0.54 acre site currently consists of various buildings owned and operated by WPH, including 36 homes and the housing association’s head office. The partnership will see HUB and Bridges deliver a substantial new residential building on the site, plus 80 new homes and a new office HQ for WPH. Newground Architects has been appointed to work up designs for the scheme, which will be WPH’s largest redevelopment project to date.
Under the partnership, HUB and Bridges will develop a new building with a long leasehold and WPH will retain the freehold for the site and its own residential units. The partners are currently exploring a range of options for the development, including a specialist co-living product. The total number of residential units is still being determined.
Denise Fowler, CEO of Women’s Pioneer Housing, said: “It’s nearly a century after Women’s Pioneer Housing was founded, and women are still facing economic disadvantage in finding suitable housing at reasonable rents. We are excited to work with HUB and Bridges in achieving our vision, by offering around 80 new safe, secure affordable homes, designed for women. This scheme will provide much needed housing for a wide range of women, providing security for those who need the flats long term and a springboard for those whose incomes rise as they progress in their careers.
Sue Hockett, Director of Property Services, said: “This ‘land for flats’ development is an innovative solution, enabling us to build homes without grant or loan funding. Following a long and rigorous procurement process, we are delighted to have found our ideal development partners. HUB and Bridges have experience of working collaboratively with their partners and have committed to working closely with us through each stage of this project to provide high quality homes designed to be flexible in use and to build improved offices for our team.”
Steve Sanham, Managing Director of HUB, said: “This is a really exciting development to be involved in and presents an opportunity to deliver something very special for Women’s Pioneer Housing and the local community. We will be working very closely with our partners and local stakeholders to develop a scheme that complements the area, mediating between the scale of Imperial North Campus and the local neighbourhood. We believe very strongly in working closely with communities and will soon be undertaking an intensive process of engagement that will help us create a successful, thoughtfully designed mixed-tenure development on this important site.”
Simon Ringer, Head of Property Funds at Bridges Fund Management, said: “This is an excellent site in a prominent location. In the last few years we’ve partnered with HUB on a number of successful lower-cost housing developments in London, and this new scheme is a natural follow-on from those. We look forward to delivering more much-needed residential accommodation for Londoners, utilising the latest sustainable design and construction methods wherever possible.”
HUB and Bridges are jointly developing a number of lower-cost housing developments across Greater London, in line with Bridges’ focus on investing in needs-driven sectors and emerging locations. These projects are on course to deliver over 1,500 homes with a combined value of over £500m.