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Kerslake and Pidgley back regeneration ballots
The influential chairs of a London house builder and housing association have backed proposals to run tenant ballots before estate regeneration projects
Sir Bob Kerslake, chair of Peabody and former permanent secretary at the Department for Communities and Local Government, spoke exclusively to Inside Housing alongside Tony Pidgley, founder and chair of Berkeley, one of the UK’s largest house builders at the MIPIM property conference in Cannes today.
Peabody signed a joint venture deal with Berkeley in December for part of its Thamesmead regeneration. It announced the final shortlist for a joint venture on a larger part of the project today.
Both said they support the concept of resident ballots for estate regeneration, a policy proposed by Jeremy Corbyn in September last year and supported by Sadiq Khan last month.
Sir Bob, who is also a former chief executive of the Homes and Communities Agency, told Inside Housing: "You need to think about how you frame the ballot, when you do it and what choices you put in front of residents.
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"But properly done, a ballot can establish a position of support for the community and we shouldn’t be shy of that. It’s hard to argue why local residents shouldn’t have engagement in the final outcome."
Mr Pidgley agreed, adding: "I think it’s right and just where democracy is moving. We have left people behind for far too long. I’m right beside Sir Bob on this one, and I’m a developer.
"It’s what we do. We turn up in your street, why shouldn’t you have a voice? Our job is to get in front of you and make sure that what we’re doing is reasonable and for the benefit of society and the community. The minute you get that, you’ll find 99% of people are decent."
The conference has seen Peabody announce the shortlist for its largest Thamesmead project, the Waterfront regeneration worth £4bn.
The housing association has narrowed down its choices to developers Lendlease and Morgan Sindall. The selected partner will enter a joint venture with Peabody to deliver 11,500 new homes as well as other facilities on the site.
Announcing the shortlist, Brendan Sarsfield, chief executive of Peabody, said: "Unrivalled in both scale and space, the Thamesmead Waterfront scheme offers a unique opportunity for Peabody."
