Barnet Council Leader, Cllr Barry Rawlings, led a ground-breaking ceremony for 217 new affordable homes including 75 extra care homes in Hendon last week, Tuesday 12 July.

The affordable homes scheme at the Upper and Lower Fosters estate was co-designed with residents, neighbours and local community organisations to decide what to build, where and how.

This process led to a design to enhance the elements of the estate that residents like and improve the aspects they didn’t like. As a result, the buildings have been arranged to ensure the open, park-like character of the estate is retained and new amenities and community spaces will be introduced.

To increase the number of affordable homes, Sage Homes invested £46.6m in the scheme and worked with the council to jointly secure a £7.32m grant from the GLA.

Cllr Barry Rawlings, Leader of Barnet Council, said:

“The Fosters Estate is one part of Barnet borough’s ambitious housing delivery programme – the largest in the capital. We are building for and with our residents, respectful of our communities and proud of our heritage.

“To achieve this, we know we must work in partnership with residents, whether that’s on community-led regeneration, or co-design of local services, in order to deliver new affordable homes, new facilities, public spaces and places to be enjoyed by all.”

Under the partnership, Barnet Homes will manage 60 homes at London Affordable Rent on the council’s behalf for people on the borough’s waiting list and continue to manage the entire estate.

Sage Homes will sell the remaining 82 shared ownership homes to part-rent part-buy customers in the local area who cannot afford to buy on the open market. The council is also developing 75 extra care homes on the site of the old Cheshir House.

Tim Mulvenna, CEO of The Barnet Group, said:

“We’re delighted to be working with Barnet Council, The GLA and Sage Homes and Hill to be delivering much-needed high quality homes in Barnet.

“We have worked closely with existing residents at the estate to co-design the new homes, strengthening the community ties and enhancing the surrounding areas. This project further strengthens our home-building credentials.”

Simon Trice, Managing Director of The Hill Group, said:

“We are delighted to be working in partnership with Barnet Homes to deliver these much needed affordable homes.

“We have extensive experience working in partnership to ensure the effective delivery of community-led estate regeneration projects and are looking forward to utilising our skills to create high quality homes that benefit the local community for many generations.”

Mark Sater, CEO of Sage Homes, said:

“Our partnership with Barnet Council and the GLA is a great example of how Sage Homes continues to work with local communities to invest in the delivery of high-quality, affordable homes for people who need them.

“I’m delighted we are involved in this key regeneration for the borough, and I look forward to seeing residents move into their new homes.”