Here's a quick round up of my recent site visits to Hackney with some promising signs and quite a few construction starts. I'll start off with the biggest; that being the Lesney toy factory (Matchmakers Wharf) site on Homerton Road. This one only gained planning consent last year with demolition works recently completing. The developers Telford Homes have pressed ahead, with the final scheme offering 138 private and 120 social units.
Another notable change was that the current homes on the Haggerston West and Kingsland Estate are undergoing the final elements of demolition. The site is currently a hive of activity and should soon be fully cleared and vacant for construction to start soon. Piles were also being dug. When completed this scheme will provide 343 private units and 418 social units for joint developers L&Q, Taylor Wimpey and John Laing.
Back to starts, this one below is on Kenworthy Road, providing 59 private and 62 social units on a site formerly occupied by a building purely for medical staff at the nearby Homerton University hospital.
The site next door incidentally currently looks like this. Very recently getting underway by developers Ashley House, it will house 18 private and 19 social units.
Phase 2 of Queensbridge Quarter in Dalston is also now underway, having been quite long coming, after the first phase completed back in 2008. This will house 56 private and 22 social resi units. The first phase incidentally was shortlisted for a number of awards and from a personal level it's not hard to see why. Designed by Levitt Bernstein, the developer is United House.
Phase 2
Phase 1
A couple of purely social starts now to finish with come from Hackney Council themselves, who are developing two site across the road from each other. Both are now under construction, the one shown below more advanced than the other. This scheme (Former Rendleshem House) will provide 43 social homes, the other (Former Ottaway House) 30 units.
What this means is that 2010 looks set to be a much better year than the last for construction starts. Going back to our 'Red Book' the figure for Hackney starts in 2009 was a grand total of 151 units (73% down on the previous year). The figure for the above sites (purely private) units that is equates to 271, not counting the major works at the Haggerston West and Kingsland estate. If this scheme was to start the figure would be 614 private starts, although this might be asking a bit much. I will of course be visiting again in december to see if it does or not.
