Hackney picks housing trust for £70m regen

Work on site is due to start within two years on a big-value housing regeneration scheme in north London, now that Hackney council finally has a preferred housing trust on board.
Insiders say London & Quadrant has triumphed in a three-way contest to transform the run-down Haggerston West and Kingsland estates in a deal worth at least £70m.
Contractors to tackle the task have not yet been appointed. But the high-profile scheme is likely to attract specialists in the field such as Countryside in Partnership, Laing, Lovell, Mansell and Willmott Dixon.
It is understood that Wates, another likely candidate, will not focus its attentions on the project.
All homes on the estates will be demolished and 748 new homes built over five years. About 400 units will fall into the affordable housing category.
One insider said: "The homes on the estate are in a terrible condition. They are what are called category four - this means that it would not be economically viable to refurbish them."
The council was expected to appoint its preferred housing trust last spring, but it is not clear why the project has been put back by at least six months.
The other two contenders for the deal were the Peabody Trust and the Southern Housing Group.