Higgins appointed to deliver two developments for Hackney Council, creating over 100 new homes

Posted 08/07/2022

As part of its in-house Council house-building programme Hackney Council has appointed Higgins to deliver over 100 new homes across two developments.

Wimbourne Street and Buckland Street will see derelict garages being replaced by high quality social rent, shared ownership, and private sale homes. 44 council social rent homes will be created across the developments, prioritised for Council tenants living near the new developments whose current homes don’t meet their needs. These will be paid for in the absence of sufficient government funding by selling some of the homes on the open market, with 25 shared ownership homes prioritised for people living and working in Hackney.

Steve Leakey, Managing Director for Higgins Partnerships comments, “We are extremely pleased to once again be working with Hackney Council to deliver these much-needed homes for the local community. We have a successful relationship working closely with the council on estate regeneration developments, including the award-winning Colville Estate and Kings Crescent Estate and look forward to transforming these two areas for the local community.”

The designs of both developments have been shaped by local residents following more than two years of consultation, and will involve improvements to public spaces and facilities, including two new children’s play areas and a new ball court.

Mayor of Hackney, Philip Glanville: “Since launching our innovative, not-for-profit Council housebuilding programme over 10 years ago, we’ve led the way in delivering high-quality Council housing in Hackney – a model we’re now seeing followed by councils across London.

“And this latest milestone shows that Hackney is still building even in tough times – putting local people first, making the best use of underused Council land, and overcoming the government’s continued failure to invest in social housing.

“Bringing this programme home, to the ward and community I used to represent as a councillor means a huge amount to me, the community and local councillors. These plans have been shaped by local people in Hoxton, who will also be the first to benefit from these desperately needed homes.”

Wimbourne Street will provide 59 mixed tenure apartments within two linear buildings, along with a new café/commercial space, a new playground, relocation of car parking and new landscaped areas. Situated on the corner of Wimbourne Street and New North Road, the development will enjoy views over Shoreditch Park to the East and a landscaped entrance courtyard will create an attractive buffer to New North Road.

Buckland Street provides 54 mixed tenure apartments within a trio of six storey villa blocks, each interlocked with podiums at ground level. The development will also include the creation of a children’s play area, refurbishment, and relocation of the existing MUGA, commercial spaces and improvements to the public open space for use by the wider community.

Higgins is committed to building better, stronger, safer, and more sustainable communities and will be working closely with the local community to provide employment, training, and social value opportunities to ensure it leaves a lasting legacy.

Both developments have been designed by Concept Architects Mikhail Riches, with Buckland Street shortlisted in the 2021 Housing Design Awards for London.

These homes will add to the more than 1,500 homes started or completed by Hackney Council since May 2018 as part of its innovative, in-house housebuilding programme. More than half the homes the Council builds are for genuinely affordable Council social rent, shared ownership or Hackney Living Rent.

Find out more at: hackney.gov.uk/hoxton-west