Forum Topic

Dickens Yard development.

Please remind me, when St George were appointed to develop the Dickens Yard site, were they to provide a cetain amount of 'affordable housing' in their development enterprise? I've forgotten what the general agreement was - please remind me. Thanks.

Gerry Tan ● 4255d16 Comments

Grateful to you Mr. Weber, very informative.

Gerry Tan ● 4246d

Mr Tan,I think that you will find the (small) thread almost exactly a year ago somewhat informative:http://www.ealingtoday.co.uk/default.asp?section=community&link=http://appasp.EalingToday.co.uk/server/app/forum/default.asp?site=2Topic: Dickens Yard Posted by: Anna Henderson Date/Time: 18/09/13 15:24:00Has anyone else noticed that there has been a change to planning permission for the Dickens Yard development, taking 59 flats from ‘discount market sale’ to ‘private’ sale? I guess this means that they will no longer be labelled as affordable housing, instead very unaffordable. It seems that there were only 11 flats under the affordable housing scheme in dickens yard. If so (and I may be wrong), what a joke. They build these ‘lovely’ new apartment buildings and under the guise that we need more housing, while actually it’s only in reach of the very well off.

Neil F. Weber ● 4246d

Strange my post disappeared.The block on Longfield Avenue leased by Catalyst Housing I believe is only available to over-55's moving from 'oversized' council or Housing Association properties.sadly this will do nothing to help the young people who we need to provide our vital services as they are very unlikely to qualify for the 'oversized' properties being released.http://www.chg.org.uk/wp-content/uploads/2012/04/Dickens-Yard-leaflet-v2.pdf

Nigel Brooks ● 4247d

I believe a housing association owns some of the flats or even a block. It is the one on Longfield Road, that has no balconies as standard, and is darkened by having Perceval house facing it. From people who own a flat or have been inside Dickens Yard I hear the rooms are small and there is no storage built in. Traditional low quality housing then.

Barbara Karayi ● 4247d

It should do Simon, but I think that in 'certain' cases the developers can 'buy their way out' of this requirement.I believe this is shameful given the lack of provision of either social or realistically affordable units in may developments.

Nigel Brooks ● 4247d

Do you mean ''Social Housing'', as in council tenants?Often a  new development needs to supply a certain amount of this kind of accommodation, I thought.

Simon Wycombe ● 4247d

I've just noticed that St George the developers of Dicken's Yard are holding an exhibition to show their progress of the complex. We hope to get along to see it - in Parish Hall of Christ the Saviour Church.

Gerry Tan ● 4248d

Philip I wish that my maths were out. My daughter is a teacher her husband a specialist driver. They both work in Ealing but now live well out of the borough as they simply could not raise a mortgage for anything more than a 1.5 bedroom (the second bedroom would have filled by the bed alone) flat. They now have a lovely little three bedroom house but have to commute in.Where the hell out future nurses, firemen, policemen and paramedics are meant to live, God alone knows.

Nigel Brooks ● 4254d

Nigel, I thought your maths was a little out with the situation bleaker than you have depicted.  But on second look it is near spot on if you are assuming the nurse and PC are an "item" with a combined salary of £60k then the 7.5 multiplier would deliver a mortgage of approx £450k.Looking at it the other way, assuming a typical max multiplier of 4x, a £450k mortgage would require a salary of approx £110k pr annum.

Philip Coe ● 4254d

£500K is still nonsensical Gerry.Take a policeman and a nurse, both vital to our community.The PC at mid point on their pay scale earns £28K, the nurse £32K.They would need a mortgage 'multiplier', even with a 10% deposit of 7.5x salary which no lender will give them.I think that you need a reality check on 'affordable'.

Nigel Brooks ● 4254d

I sit corrected, it was the state-owned China Investment Fund of which I was thinking.

Nigel Brooks ● 4254d

Susan, my definition of affordable housing is more like property below £500k. That's what young couples and many retired people are able to afford - not prices below £1M.

Gerry Tan ● 4254d

Trust, yes, but not an investment trust, which is a specific term in finance.

Susan Kelly ● 4255d

Yes I do, for, IIRC there have been 'bulk buys' by an overseas trust.

Nigel Brooks ● 4255d

I don't think you mean an investment trust. There are a number of flats below a million, perfectly affordable for downsizing Baby Boomers selling the family home.

Susan Kelly ● 4255d

I thought Gerry from posts 'passim' that they had paid to remove this obligation.In any event there is no 'affordable' accommodation in Dickens yard unless you are an overseas investment trust.

Nigel Brooks ● 4255d