Specialist housing association Women’s Pioneer Housing (WPH) has selected Bridges Fund Management and HUB, a specialist housing developer, to redevelop a key site on Wood Lane, White City, in an innovative partnership that will deliver a substantial new residential building, as well as 80 new homes for WPH residents, more than doubling the number currently on site.

Following a competitive OJEU procurement process, WPH, which provides affordable housing for women, selected Bridges and HUB as its development partners for the site, which is ideally located immediately opposite the new Imperial North Campus and just north of the redeveloped BBC Television Centre.

The 0.54 acre site currently consists of various buildings owned and operated by WPH, including 36 homes and the housing association’s head office. The partnership will see Bridges and HUB deliver a substantial new residential building on the site, plus 80 new homes and a new office HQ for WPH. Newground Architects has been appointed to work up designs for the scheme, which will be WPH’s largest redevelopment project to date.

Under the partnership, Bridges and HUB will develop a new building with a long leasehold and WPH will retain the freehold for the site and its own residential units. The partners are currently exploring a range of options for the development, including a specialist co-living product. The total number of residential units is still being determined.

Denise Fowler, CEO of Women’s Pioneer Housing, said: “It’s nearly a century after Women’s Pioneer Housing was founded, and women are still facing economic disadvantage in finding suitable housing at reasonable rents. We are excited to work with HUB and Bridges in achieving our vision, by offering around 80 new safe, secure affordable homes, designed for women. This scheme will provide much needed housing for a wide range of women, providing security for those who need the flats long term and a springboard for those whose incomes rise as they progress in their careers.

Sue Hockett, Director of Property Services, said: “This ‘land for flats’ development is an innovative solution, enabling us to build homes without grant or loan funding. Following a long and rigorous procurement process, we are delighted to have found our ideal development partners. HUB and Bridges have experience of working collaboratively with their partners and have committed to working closely with us through each stage of this project to provide high quality homes designed to be flexible in use and to build improved offices for our team.”

Simon Ringer, Head of Property Funds at Bridges Fund Management, said: “This is an excellent site in a prominent location. In the last few years we’ve partnered with HUB on a number of successful lower-cost housing developments in London, and this new scheme is a natural follow-on from those. We look forward to delivering more much-needed residential accommodation for Londoners, utilising the latest sustainable design and construction methods wherever possible.”

Steve Sanham, Managing Director of HUB, said: “This is a really exciting development to be involved in and presents an opportunity to deliver something very special for Women’s Pioneer Housing and the local community. We will be working very closely with our partners and local stakeholders to develop a scheme that complements the area, mediating between the scale of Imperial North Campus and the local neighbourhood. We believe very strongly in working closely with communities and will soon be undertaking an intensive process of engagement that will help us create a successful, thoughtfully designed mixed-tenure development on this important site.”

Bridges and HUB are jointly developing a number of lower-cost housing developments across Greater London, in line with Bridges’ focus on investing in needs-driven sectors and emerging locations. These projects are on course to deliver over 1,500 homes with a combined value of over £500m.

NOTES TO EDITORS

Women’s Pioneer Housing

Founded in 1920 by suffrage campaigners, Women’s Pioneer Housing is an independent, women’s-only housing association with a vision of making a positive difference to women’s lives.

Nearly a century after Women’s Pioneer was first established, women are still facing particular disadvantages in finding secure and affordable housing. Our mission is to provide homes and services to offer independent women a springboard to achieving their potential – and we aim to influence others to do the same.

We own and manage just over 1000 socially rented properties across London, with plans to grow by 15% over the next five years. We empower our residents to live independent lives, and support them in doing so.

We are currently working on a Heritage Lottery funded project, “Pioneering Courage: Housing and the new working woman 1919-1939”. This will delve into our history, and establish the link between the suffrage movement and affordable, good quality housing.

HUB

HUB is an experienced, people-centred developer delivering thoughtfully designed homes and places in well-connected locations.

The company was set up in 2012 with the recognition that too many of today’s developments are not accessible to the majority of people in the UK. With a pipeline of over 2,500 homes, both for sale and rent, HUB is going some way to make up for the shortfall. Beyond supplying well-designed homes, HUB’s focus centers on providing spaces for local communities to engage, interact and grow. To achieve this, HUB carries out extensive public consultations and community engagement programmes and offers local employment and training schemes across its sites.

HUB’s developments include Taberner House and the redevelopment of the popular Queen’s Gardens in Croydon; The Boiler House and Material Store on the grounds of the former EMI factory in Hayes; the Rehearsal Rooms in North Acton, one of London’s first institutionally-backed PRS schemes; and Hoola London, a residential scheme heated by excess energy from the neighbouring ExCel, at the Royal Victoria Dock.