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Camden residents move into new affordable homes at Central St. Giles / Renzo Piano designed homes for local residents
Designed by Renzo Piano, the world-renowned architect of the Pompidou Centre in Paris, Central St. Giles is a mixed-use contemporary regeneration development. It has over 37,600 square meters of commercial office space, 2,250 square meters of retail space and two residential blocks – one private, one affordable – all set around a public piazza. In WC1, it nestles between Tottenham Court Road, Bloomsbury and Soho, providing a rare opportunity for local residents and families to live in new quality affordable housing in central London.
Owners of Central St. Giles, Legal and General, selected Circle 33 Housing Trust to take on responsibility for the affordable housing units of the scheme. Working closely with Legal and General’s project team, especially PRP Architects, Circle 33 Housing Trust have developed 53 affordable homes of mixed tenures; social rent, intermediate rent and shared ownership*.
Funded with social housing grant from the Homes and Communities Agency (HCA) of £5.35 million, the homes include some much needed family sized properties, which will help to alleviate overcrowding in the borough, particularly around Covent Garden.
The homes include a number of environmentally friendly systems such as a central boiler with bio mass fuel. In addition, residents should benefit from substantially reduced energy costs due to the high energy efficiency of the new building.
Crucial to building a sustainable community that will enhance the Life Chances of all residents, Circle 33 Housing Trust will be running a range of initiatives in partnership with Camden Council and local organisations.
The community activities will encourage resident involvement, and help residents gain access to work and training opportunities and a range of community projects and services. These include information and guidance in employment and training, a Timebank project called Camden Share, Healthy Living events, a Youth Club and a gardening project amongst many others.
Some of the new residents attended a celebration event today, many of whom had been on waiting lists for years, and living in overcrowded accommodation. Mrs O’Reilly, recently moved into a two -bed flat with her 18 year old son Rory, said: “My son and I were on the transfer waiting list for eight years waiting for a larger property, and we’re thrilled with having more space.” Rory said: “We love it here and feel blessed to be living in this lovely accommodation.”
Another new tenant Bernadette Flanders, 39, and her 11 year old son Tamek also just moved into their new two-bed home. Bernanette, who showed local councilors around her home during the event, said: “We’re really excited about moving in. This is the first time I’ve ever lived in my own place – I’ve lived with my parents for 39 years until now because I couldn’t afford to move. It’s very important that we have our own space now – I feel much more independent. Having the extra space is really great too – we were a little cramped at my parents. We love the location, it’s really busy and this is a safe area for my son. The transport links are good too - we have easy access to my son’s school and to my work.”
Carol Carter, Group Regional Operations Director at Circle Anglia, said: “We are committed to enhancing the Life Chances of residents and we’re thrilled to work in partnership with Camden Council and Legal and General to provide good quality affordable homes for the local community. With the future of London’s affordable housing provision a hot topic of debate – this mixed-used scheme is a positive example of partners working together to create a vibrant sustainable community and demonstrates the value that HCA funding delivers. ”
Councillor Julian Fulbrook, Cabinet Member for Housing, Camden Council, who spoke at the event, said: “This is a great step forward for all Camden residents, but especially those who we have nominated to move in to the new homes. Camden Council is committed to making more affordable housing available to our residents so I particularly welcome the larger family units, and particularly in Holborn and Covent Garden.”
Nick Taylor, head of area for north London from the Homes and Communities Agency (HCA) commented:
“With its roots in central London, Central St. Giles is ideal for any homeowner and is a great opportunity for families to live in quality, affordable housing. What makes this development stand out is that it’s about more than just building houses; it’s also about creating communities. The local community has been placed at the heart of Circle Anglia’s development for which they should be commended. I am also pleased that this development echoes the HCA’s commitment to build lasting family homes through its use of green systems which will also help to keep costs down.”
For further information please contact Natasha Spong at the Circle Anglia press office on 0845 234 0824 or email pressoffice@circleanglia.org.
