Council selects Hill as long-term strategic development partner
With more than 10,000 households on the housing register and 2,450 households living in temporary accommodation, the partnership is designed to help tackle Lewisham's housing crisis by delivering new homes faster and at greater scale.
Under the partnership, the Council and Hill will work together to deliver new homes and regeneration projects across the borough over the next 10 years, with the potential to extend for a further five years. The agreement can span up to £1.5 billion of construction delivery in Lewisham.
Rather than appointing a different developer for every project, the Council will work directly with Hill over the long term, helping bring forward new homes and projects more quickly and consistently, while retaining greater control over quality, affordability, sustainability and delivery timescales.
As well as delivering new homes, Hill is committed to creating new local jobs, skills training and education opportunities as well as investment in the community, ensuring local people benefit from development in their neighbourhoods.
The partnership will support different types of housing projects. In some cases, the Council will develop and own the affordable homes. In others, Hill will invest in the development, with the Council given first choice to buy the affordable homes.
The first projects as part of the partnership are already underway and include:
- Thomas' Lane Yard, Catford – delivering 113 affordable homes, 39 homes for social rent and 74 shared ownership homes
- Achilles Street Estate Regeneration, New Cross – delivering 278 new homes, including 122 homes for social rent. This project provides a minimum of 62% affordable homes, with the first two phases providing 149 homes, all affordable.
Drawing on Hill's extensive experience of delivering long-term projects in partnership with the public sector, Lewisham Council will be able to maximise value through better-informed design and development decisions from the outset.
Councillor Daniel Dream, Cabinet Member for Inclusive Regeneration, Planning and Housing Delivery, said:
“With more than 10,000 households on the housing register and nearly 2,500 families in temporary accommodation, we need to build the homes our community needs faster. This partnership cuts red tape and gives the Council greater control over quality, affordability and delivery.
We are looking forward to working with The Hill Group, an award-winning housebuilder with a proven track record, to deliver the homes, jobs and investment our community needs over the next decade.”
Andy Hill OBE, Founder and Chief Executive of The Hill Group, said:
“We are delighted to have been selected by Lewisham Council as its Strategic Development Partner and look forward to working together to help deliver the borough's ambitious housing and regeneration programme.
“What makes this partnership particularly important is the opportunity to combine our expertise in regeneration, placemaking and delivery with the Council's vision for the future of Lewisham. Long-term partnerships such as this create the certainty and alignment needed to unlock technically complex sites, enable more efficient delivery and ensure developments genuinely reflect the needs of local communities.
“Our track record has been built on successful partnerships with local authorities and housing providers across London and the South East, and we are excited to bring that experience to Lewisham as we begin work on Thomas' Lane Yard, Achilles Street and future projects across the borough."