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9 February 2010
Countryside Properties and L&Q have been selected by the London Borough of Ealing as development partner to regenerate Ealing’s largest housing estate, South Acton. It will involve the redevelopment of mixed-tenure homes on a prominent 40-acre site.
The vision is to reconnect the South Acton estate to the wider neighbourhood through the creation of an urban village with traditional tree-lined streets, a sense of place, and safety and security for its residents. It will be a ‘green’ neighbourhood with a plaza, upgraded parks, communal gardens, allotments and private spaces. The new homes will be environmentally sustainable offering low heating, power and water costs. The new neighbourhood will have improved links to the existing adjoining underground and overground stations, and Acton Town Centre.
There will be a very wide range of integrated housing tenures and types with around half of the proposed homes being affordable and the remaining for private sale. Particular emphasis will be placed on family housing within a broad range of homes from 1 to 4 bedroom apartments and maisonettes, through to 4 and 5 bedroom houses across all tenures. There will also be a dedicated hub of community, cultural, office and retail space.
Following further consultation with residents, the masterplan for the regeneration will be completed this summer. It is anticipated that a planning application will be submitted later this year. Countryside Properties and L&Q are working with a highly experienced project team including HTA Architects as masterplanners & lead architects; Alison Brooks Architects as character area architects, AECOM and Terence O’Rourke.
Richard Cherry, Deputy Chairman of Countryside Properties, said: “Our over-arching vision is to transform the South Acton Estate into a highly sought after, sustainable, residential community that all residents are proud to live in. It is a genuinely unique opportunity to not only regenerate one of London’s largest housing estates, but to use the physical, social, and economic regeneration as a catalyst for improving the quality of life across a wider area.”
David Montague, Chief Executive of L&Q, said: “We are absolutely delighted to have been selected by the London borough of Ealing for this highly significant redevelopment. We look forward to working with residents and the council to develop a masterplan that will transform the estate and continue our mission of creating places where people want to live.”
The decision to appoint Countryside Properties and L&Q has the backing of the Council’s Developer Selection Group – a body of local residents who have been involved since the start of the regeneration process. Many of the original blocks of flats in South Acton date back to the 1950s, ‘60s and ‘70s. They were not designed to modern standards and do not meet the needs of today's residents.
Councillor Will Brooks, Cabinet Member for Housing, at the London borough of Ealing said: "This is a very positive step for the estate. Resident involvement has been key in this project and we have been careful to ensure tenants and leaseholders have had every chance to get involved. It’s great that we’ve been able to appoint the developer that the residents' group preferred."
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Notes
L&Q is one of the UK’s leading housing associations and works alongside more than 90 local authorities in London and the South East, managing more than 63,000 homes. L&Q builds high quality, affordable homes across a mix of tenures as well as improving existing homes. L&Q is involved in large scale community regeneration projects across London and is committed to investing in local neighbourhoods and communities to continue its mission of creating places where people want to live. For more information visit
www.lqgroup.org.uk
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Information correct as at 09/02/2010