Pocket Living moves ahead with affordable home scheme at Woodside Park in Barnet

By Bridging Loan Directory 14th December 2021

Innovative affordable housing developer Pocket Living has signed a build contract with HG Construction to deliver a scheme for 86 one-bedroom homes for first-time buyers at Woodside Park in Barnet, London, having completed an agreement with Transport for London for the site.

The deal is the culmination of several years of planning and managing technical hurdles associated with the site’s proximity to the railway track, including complex works to cable infrastructure.

Woodside Park N12 is located adjacent to Woodside Park Station in Barnet. The development will provide 86 Pocket one-bedroom homes across two separate buildings each rising to four storeys.

Everyone living at Woodside Park N12 will have access to two rooftop gardens with lush planting and allotment beds for residents to grow their own produce.

Woodside Park N12 will be sold to Barnet’s first-time buyers at a 20% discount to the local market.

Nick Cuff, Pocket Living’s Chief Commercial Officer, comments:

“This is exactly the kind of challenging small site which needs to come forward if we are to solve the housing crisis.

Whilst there have been challenges along the way, the joint working between TfL and Pocket will now lead to the creation of 86 first time buyer homes for local residents of Barnet.”

Pocket has always been at the heart of innovative collaborations in the housing sector and we believe new thinking and working in partnership with the public sector is crucial if we are serious about tackling the housing crisis. The delivery of this site demonstrates our commitment to this.

We are also thrilled to be working on the delivery side again with our construction partners HG.

This will be the seventh collaboration with their team and we are all looking forward to seeing this building coming out of the ground.”

Jonathan Cornelius, Head of Property Development at TfL, said:

“We are pleased to have completed the agreement with Pocket Living on this site at Woodside Park, which will deliver 86 new affordable homes.

This development plays an important part in tackling the housing crisis and delivering the new homes that the capital urgently needs, while also generating vital revenue to invest into London’s transport network.”

The deal between Pocket Living and TfL to provide new homes at Woodside Park is part of TfL’s wider commercial development programme, which will see thousands of high-quality new homes built on its land across the capital.

Alongside the commitment to deliver 50 per cent affordable housing across the current portfolio, the programme will provide sustainable revenue to reinvest into public transport, reducing the organisation’s reliance on fares revenue.

Conor Rice, Managing Director, HG Construction, comments:

“HG Construction has built up a wealth of experience in delivering challenging and complex London schemes which is highly relevant to this project.

We have an excellent working relationship with Pocket Living and we are delighted to be partnering with them again to deliver this innovative Woodside Park scheme which will help address the local housing shortage.”

To be eligible to purchase a Pocket home, the prospective buyer can’t already own another property, and must live or work in the borough of the respective development.

All buyers must earn under the Mayor of London’s income threshold for affordable housing.

When the homes are sold on, new purchasers must meet the original criteria and have a household income below the Mayor of London’s affordable housing threshold.

Buyers own 100% of their property, which are sold at a minimum of a 20% discount to the local market.