Hertfordshire council sells tower block to housing association for redevelopment

The decision to sell the 1960s block was prompted by the need for major works to bring it up to current fire safety standards, which the authority said would cost “many millions”. 

Simon Johns, chair of the council’s housing and inclusion committee, said: “When we looked at options for the future of the Telford Court site, we decided it would be best redeveloped by a major social housing provider.

“It would have been too big a project for the council to take on itself and we wanted to ensure the site continued to provide social rent homes.”

Hightown Housing Association, which manages more than 9,300 homes mainly in Hertfordshire, was chosen after a competitive bidding process last April.

The council invited bids from registered providers for Telford Court on the condition the building would be demolished and rebuilt as new social housing “as soon as reasonably practicable”.

Mr Johns added: “I am delighted that the process has now concluded and that Hightown Housing Association will soon start work on the redevelopment once all the contractual details have been finalised. They share our vision for the site and we look forward to seeing their detailed plans.

“As a council, we are committed to providing new social housing for the district and this project to redevelop Telford Court with Hightown Housing Association is a clear demonstration of that.”

The Hemel Hempstead-based landlord recently announced it had secured £100m in funding from the the Affordable Homes Guarantee Scheme (AHGS), a government-backed bond issuance programme. 

From this, £60m will be invested in 250 new affordable homes and the remaining £40m will be allocated for improvements to existing homes.