Southern Housing and East Thames to plan 1,500 homes next to Olympics
Landlords and Ikea strike Olympic deal
Two housing associations have agreed a landmark deal with an Ikea-owned development company which will see 1,500 homes built on the edge of the Olympic park.
Southern Housing Group and East Thames Group have teamed up with development company Landprop to build the scheme on a 13-acre site in east London’s Bromley-by-Bow.
In one of the most significant private investments in the Olympic zone in two years, the developer, which is owned by Inter Ikea, the investment arm of the Swedish furniture company, has bought the land for an undisclosed sum from receivers CB Richard Ellis.
The Sugar House Lane site is located opposite the Olympic park close to Stratford and had been owned previously by developer Cleveland - which had also worked with the associations. The deal represents the largest investment in the Olympic fringe area since Westfield bought the Stratford city site two years ago.
Southern Housing and East Thames are already partners with developer First Base in special purpose vehicle Triathlon Homes, which is building the 2,818 homes that will make up the athlete’s village.
Geoff Pearce, group director of development at East Thames, said: ‘East Thames and Southern Housing have been supporting Land Prop Holdings in their purchase of land at Sugar House Lane. We have agreed initial leads of terms to assist them with a comprehensive masterplan for the site.’
It is thought that although the site is not in the Olympic park, the development partnership will still work in conjunction with the Olympic Park Legacy Company which is working to attract private investment to the site after the games in 2012.
The news came as the government agreed a deal to transfer ownership of land in the park from the London Development Agency to the OPLC without the accompanying debt.
Securing the land without the debt burden means OPLC can renew talks with private investors and publish its masterplan for the park legacy which could see the development of up to 10,000 homes over the next 25 years.
Margaret Ford, chair of OPLC, said: ‘This affirms their [the government’s] strong commitment to legacy and allows us to carry on building the momentum we have been driving over the past year.’
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