New homes for Christmas
Residents in Gospel Oak are celebrating moving into brand new homes for Christmas. The festive season marks a milestone in the council’s development of brand new council housing in the borough, with the first tenants from the old Bacton Low Rise Estate moving into their newly completed homes.
At a Christmas party yesterday (Mon 14 Dec) the new residents, enjoyed refreshments, a ribbon cutting ceremony and Father Christmas handed out presents to children. The Bacton Low Rise Tenants and Residents Association (TRA), building contractors and the Leader of the Council, Councillor Sarah Hayward were also there to help celebrate.
Cherry Court, which has been built on the former district housing office site, is the first part of the Bacton Low Rise re-development project to be completed. Phase one of the development project provides 67 new homes on the former office site and in Vicars Road. The redevelopment is part of Camden’s Community Investment Programme and provides high quality, energy efficient housing and improved living spaces.
The Bacton Low Rise TRA worked in partnership with Camden, to address the poor condition and problems of energy inefficiency for the homes on the estate. Together they chose an architect to produce the initial designs on how the new estate will look
Cllr Hayward, Leader of the Council said:
“This is the first time Camden has been able to build new council homes in Gospel Oak for over 20 years. It’s a huge step in the regeneration of the area at a time when we are facing an affordable housing crisis.”
“This development is a brilliant example of resident-led regeneration and I’d like to say a huge thank you to the commitment and hard work of the Bacton Low Rise TRA for working with us to deliver this impressive re-development scheme. I hope everyone enjoys their Christmas break in their homes.”
The Bacton Low Rise TRA, said:
"It been hard work getting to where we are today, but a big achievement working as a team and getting support from the great community on the estate. It's going to be lovely to move into the new homes just before Christmas".
Sarah Robbins, TRA member, added:
"In the first time in 21 years I will have a new council home with no overcrowding"
The redevelopment will ultimately provide 294 new homes. 177 for private sale, 107 will be council homes for rent, and 10 shared ownership homes. Three employment units will also be created. The work will be undertaken over three phases.
The next phase will involve demolishing the original Bacton Low Rise estate in summer 2016 and building 226 new homes on the site.
As well as providing much needed new homes, redesigning the estate will bring further benefits such as investment funding and opportunities for open spaces, better lighting and safety improvements which enhance the look and feel of the area.
This comes as Camden Council last week voiced its concerns to Government about the impact of the current Housing and Planning Bill on London’s unprecedented housing crisis, calling into question council’s like Camden’s ability to build new genuinely affordable homes.
Notes to editors
The redevelopment is part of Camden’s Community Investment Programme (CIP), a 15 year plan to invest money in schools, homes and community facilities by selling or redeveloping properties that are out of date, expensive to maintain, or underused and difficult to access, helping to generate funds that are not otherwise available to reinvest into improving other services and facilities.
More information about Camden’s Community Investment Programme is available at: www.camden.gov.uk/cip
You can view Camden’s written evidence to the Government’s Housing and Planning Bill