Clarion Housing Group celebrated the handover of 25 new one and two bedroom affordable homes at Pembroke House in Camberley, Surrey at an official event, alongside Mayor of Surrey Heath, Cllr Sarah Jane Croke and local dignitaries. Constructed by Berkeley in partnership with Surrey Heath Borough Council, the new affordable apartments in Pembroke House will be sold by Clarion to eligible shared ownership buyers in and around the local area. “It was a great honour to open these new homes. Camberley is a great place to live and I’m proud that Surrey Heath Borough Council is able to deliver one of the few 100% affordable housing developments in the area,” comments Mayor of Surrey Heath Borough Council, Cllr Sarah Jane Croke. The affordable homes offer a range of layouts, set in an attractively designed three-storey apartment block in Camberley. Combining the very best of traditional and modern living, each home is built to the very high standards for which Berkeley is renowned, offering fresh, contemporary interiors, fitted kitchens and dedicated car parking. Residents at Pembroke House will be well situated to benefit from the variety of regeneration improvements taking place in Camberley. The Square shopping centre, just a 22 minute walk away, is being updated as part of the town’s regeneration plans into a brand new leisure and entertainment destination, containing around 100 shops and cafes. Alongside this, Camberley’s High Street has been awarded a £3.5 million grant to improve the roads and pavements, as well as the installation of public art, walkways and public seating within the town. Residents are also set to benefit from a brand new multi-million pound leisure centre, which will include wellness facilities such as a swimming pool, climbing wall and gym. “As house prices and private rents increase, affordable housing is vital as it means more people can afford to buy their own home who otherwise would be priced out of renting or buying on the open market. This is an excellent development and I am sure the new residents will be happy living here for many years to come,” said Cllr Adrian Page, portfolio holder for Planning and People at Surrey Heath Borough Council. Ideally situated to the south of Camberley, Pembroke House is conveniently well-connected. Camberley town centre is just over 1 mile away, offering a wide range of shops and amenities. Rail connections are second to none from Camberley station, with rail links into Central London in just over an hour, and Ascot in 12 minutes. Guildford, Farnborough, Winchester and Southampton are all within easy reach by road.

A landmark 20 storey 100% affordable residential tower in West Ealing, London has been granted approval on Appeal, with the Inspector praising the ‘exemplary design.’ The development – 55 West – will provide 144 affordable apartments, with split level ground floor amenity and communal spaces. 50 of the homes will be London Living Rent and 94 will be Shared Ownership.   DMWR Architects was appointed by developer Southern Grove and Metropolitan Thames Valley Housing to prepare a detailed Planning Application for the landmark building in a highly sustainable, brownfield location adjacent to West Ealing Crossrail station. Following previous attempts by others for a 26-storey tower, DMWR was asked to put forward a fresh approach. Through intelligent and efficient planning, a significantly lower design was conceived, losing seven storeys but only five residential units.  The design evolved through detailed consultation process with the local community, London Borough of Ealing and the GLA. Jeff Stokes, Director of DMWR Architects said, “We are extremely pleased that the planning inspector has overturned the original decision and granted permission for this much needed 100% affordable residential development. We have worked closely with Southern Grove and MTVH over a two-year period, developing a design concept, which has involved through extensive consultation and has led to the Inspector describing the scheme as ‘’an exemplary piece of design that would make a positive contribution to the area.”   The conclusion of the report stated: “The proposal would deliver one hundred and forty-four units of much needed affordable housing in a tall building of exemplary design that would have no harmful impact on the character or appearance of the area, or the setting and thereby the significance of heritage assets. On that basis, it would optimise rather than maximise the use of the site.”  Tom Slingsby, CEO of Southern Grove, said: “We couldn’t be happier with the design of 55 West.”  “In a world where developments often look identical, 55 West has character, texture and personality in abundance. It really raises the bar for affordable housing everywhere and just shows that it can be accessible and aspirational all at the same time, with no compromise. If considered design like this is viable in London on a fully affordable scheme, there’s no excuse for any developer to create mundane and uninspirational architecture anywhere in the country.” Horizontal and vertical banding was used in the design to create a layered and distinctive, elegant form while a robust pallet of three brick shades articulate different elements within the façade, including a darker brick ‘shadow gap’ to separate the tower and shoulder buildings. Both winter gardens and balconies were placed on the extremities of the floorplates to reduce the building’s silhouette and make the most of the views across London. The scheme also benefits from large rooftop amenity and various carbon reducing initiatives, exceeding GLA requirements.   Work is expected to start on site in early 2022.  For further information about DMWR Architects please visit https://www.dmwr.co.uk

A showhome is set to be unveiled this month at a new development on a former school site in Forest Hill. Bellway London Partnerships will be opening the doors to a showhome at Dacres Wood Court – a 59-apartment development on the former home of Our Lady and St Philip Neri Infant School – on Saturday 6 November. The homes, off Mayow Road, will be one, two and three-bedroom apartments, 20 of which will be provided as affordable housing for local people through rent or shared ownership. “Viewing the showhome at Dacres Wood Court will provide the perfect opportunity for buyers to visualise what it would be like to live in one of these brand-new apartments. This will be the first time visitors have the chance to look inside a completed home and we expect there to be a lot of interest in doing so. Sales are already going well and we anticipate that high level of demand to continue. The showhome, which is the first property to be completed on site, is a perfect example of the quality apartments on offer at Dacres Wood Court,” said Amie Triphook-Cole, Head of Sales for Bellway London Partnerships. The show apartment features an open plan living space off an entrance hall, with two bedrooms – one of which includes a suggested home-working zone, and a family bathroom. “The open-plan kitchen has integrated appliances and flows seamlessly into the dining and living area, which leads onto a terrace. All apartments will have a private outdoor space, giving buyers the option to work outside if the weather is kind or just to enjoy relaxing in the fresh air. All the homes within this development are below the London Help to Buy price cap and are proving to be extremely popular with first time-buyers. Work continues to progress well and we hope to see our first completions later this year, when we’ll welcome the first residents onto the development,” added Amie. London Help to Buy enables first-time buyers to secure a new-build home in the capital with a five per cent deposit and a 55 per cent mortgage. The remaining 40 per cent is provided in the form of a Government-backed equity loan, which is interest free for the first five years. The scheme, which runs until 2023, is now only available to first-time buyers and on homes under the regional price cap – which for London is £600,000. There are one, two and three-bedroom apartments currently on sale at Dacres Wood Court, with prices starting from £354,495.

Affordable housing provider St Arthur Homes has acquired its largest number of private units on one site to date, for Shared Ownership between Southampton and Portsmouth in a deal in excess of £25M with The Vistry Group. The purchase of 95 affordable homes at the Whiteley Meadows development in Winchester, comes as part of St Arthur Homes’ focused expansion programme, as it aims to deliver at least 2,000 new homes over five years. The first phase of 45 Shared Ownership homes at Whiteley Meadows will be launched for sale soon, including a range of two and three-bedroom houses and two-bedroom apartments, providing affordable opportunities for buyers to get onto the property ladder for as little as a 5% deposit on the share they buy. Buyers will initially be able to purchase a share of the property, with the opportunity to buy further shares up to outright ownership in the future. “We are delighted to have acquired the site at Whiteley Meadows, which is our largest Shared Ownership development to date. Working alongside Vistry, we are pleased to play our part in delivering this fantastic new community in an outstanding countryside location while helping make homes more affordable for our buyers. The increasing awareness and demand for Shared Ownership homes puts us in a strong position to continue to grow our business,” said Chief Executive Officer for St Arthur Homes. St Arthur Homes specialises in delivering premium shared ownership housing, without compromise on specification and is taking its place in the market as the aspirational RP. St Arthur works with a range of partners to acquire affordable housing across London and the South of England through S106 and grant-led schemes, with plans to expand into The Midlands. The deal with Vistry Group is the latest in a series of partnership deals with leading housebuilders as St Arthur increases its portfolio. Whiteley Meadows is a multi-phase development where the overall masterplan will deliver more than 3,000 new homes from a group of leading developers led by The Vistry Group. The plans also include new schools, a care home, community centre, green spaces and shops, along with associated infrastructure. The new neighbourhood is well situated between Southampton, Portsmouth and Winchester, and surrounded by countryside, making it an attractive and sustainable place to live.

There is a great demand for rental homes that have been designed to suit family life and a leading example of just such a development is Canada Gardens in Wembley Park. Operated by Quintain Living – the award-winning management company that is expertly looking after the rental of more than 3,000 homes – the pet-friendly apartments deliver family focused living in the heart of the exciting Wembley Park neighbourhood. For Canada Gardens resident Loide Azinheiro, who has lived in Canada Gardens with husband Joao and baby Benjamin since January 2021, it was the building’s family focus that was the attraction. Canada Gardens has something for everyone – there’s a pirate ship themed children’s play area and water feature, a beautiful indoor playroom, an acre of private podium gardens with outdoor kitchens and BBQs, a huge roof terrace and a serviced clubhouse for indoor relaxation. Loide and Joao have both enjoyed working from the clubhouse, while Loide has joined Pilates and yoga classes, art and painting lessons and baking classes with local artisan bakery Bread Ahead, all organised by the Quintain Living team through its dedicated app. The Wembley Park neighbourhood also has plenty to appeal to families. Loide loves all the new developments that are appearing, while the CCTV, on-site security and well-lit boulevards make her feel safe and confident when out and about. Working just outside Marylebone (when not home-based), the location is also ideal for her commute as the overground train reaches Marylebone in just nine minutes and both the Jubilee and Metropolitan lines run from Wembley Park station. And for little Benji, attending the local, bilingual (English/French) nursery is perfect. Working from home also played into the couple’s decision to move to Canada Gardens. They had lived in a two-bedroom apartment in Quintain Living’s Alameda development since April 2019, but with Benji now in tow and the pandemic likely resulting in long-term remote working, they switched to a three-bedroom home in Canada Gardens, using the third bedroom as a home office. For families in the same situation, Canada Gardens offers not just the clubhouse as a place to work but designer work-from-home sheds surrounded by greenery, a rooftop lounge and work from home area, study and a phone booth over the super-lobby. Meanwhile, families who want to get back to nature can hire allotment beds to grow their own fruit, flowers, herbs and vegetables. There’s a tool shed for storing pots and tools, with information on growing seasons. Quintain Living’s estates team is also on hand to provide expert advice on planting and nurturing. Children growing up in Wembley Park have plenty of primary and secondary schooling options close by, including the Lycée International de Londres Winston Churchill, which is immensely popular. There are also all the on-site shops, theatre, cinema and playparks available at Wembley Park itself, including LDO and London’s largest Boxpark. There’s even a new public park next to Canada Garden’s entrance, complete with a children’s playground, paddling area, water features, a games area, and an outdoor gym. With a dog park and acres of greenery to come, it’s the icing on the cake in terms of local attractions for families. Available in one to three-bedroom layouts, Canada Gardens’ apartments can be rented furnished or unfurnished, to suit families’ varying needs. All homes provide free, superfast WiFi, which is set up ready to use the moment families move in. Utilities are also set up and ready to go, with one monthly bill that breaks everything out for total transparency, with families only paying for what they use. Co-designed with John Lewis & Partners and Samsung, with Kohler bathroom fittings, the apartments offer a high standard of contemporary comfort and style – perfectly for modern family life.