Video: Newham launches building company for PRS homes

Newham Council this morning launched Red Door Ventures at a ceremony for the first 36-home development in Stratford, due to be completed later this year.

Setting up a private company means the borough can build new homes, despite reaching the borrowing limit on its housing revenue account. Red Door Ventures has secured loans from institutional investors, as well as a start-up loan from the council.

The council-owned company will build 3,000 new homes, and plans to acquire a further 500 existing properties. All the homes will be available for residents at market rent or below, with a third of the homes set at affordable rent subsidised by the council. The borough plans to increase the number of affordable homes by recycling profits from the company.

The first development, designed by archtiects Rogers Stirk Harbour and Partners, will feature 36 two-bedroom homes let initially at market rents.

The homes will be manufactured offsite, before being assembled into a five-storey building, with the entire build programme expected to take just six months.

Sir Robin Wales, mayor of Newham, said: ‘This is an ambitious and exciting new company which will deliver thousands of much-needed, high-quality private rent homes in Newham.’

The borough recently reached the limit of its borrowing capacity for new build with a £26 million plan to build 220 new council owned homes.

Lord Richard Rogers, of Rogers Stirk Harbour and Partners, said: ‘[We] are delighted to be designing this pioneering scheme for Newham Council. Their ambitions for high-quality, well-designed and affordable homes that can be delivered efficiently is perfectly suited to our offsite construction approach.’

Lord Rogers said the firm is in talks with the Greater London Authority and a number of other London boroughs about delivering similar PRS developments.

To read more about the private rented sector click here.