Lovell has been awarded a £25 million contract to build two new sustainable housing schemes for Hackney Council through an innovative land swap scheme.

The properties are the first new-build homes to be built by Lovell for Hackney Council following the company's extensive work on the borough's housing modernisation programme over the past six years.

The two developments will create a total of 107 new affordable homes for rent as well as 42 properties for open market sale through Lovell. The Council enabled the development of the 42 units on a site (Alexandra National House) overlooking Finsbury Park with a Red Book value of around £2 million, and in return Lovell will invest in the scheme by undertaking the construction of 20 further Council-owned homes at another site, at Shepherds Lane, in a scheme worth around £3 million.

-- Advertisement --

This is thought to be among the first instances of a local authority cross-subsidising the development of sites in its property portfolio on this scale, as the mixed-tenure model is usually associated with major regeneration projects or with housing associations.

Construction work on both developments is set to start in March 2011 with the new homes at the Alexandra National House site due to be completed in March 2014 and the Shepherds Lane properties set to be finished in March 2012.

Lovell Regional Director Steve Coombs said: "We have an excellent working partnership with Hackney Council developed through our extensive work helping refurbish and improve the authority’s housing stock. We look forward to bringing our wide-ranging national expertise in the creation of sustainable affordable homes to these two schemes – our first new-build projects for Hackney – which will create energy-efficient, attractive homes for residents."

(CD)