Five consortia battle for major London housing deal

Laing O'Rourke, Wates and Willmott Dixon are among the major players to make it onto English Partnerships' shortlist for the multi-million pound affordable homes plan for London.

The shortlist for the so-called London-Wide Initiative (LWI) is:

• Countryside Properties in partnesrhip with Acton Housing Association, Hyde Housing Association, Metropolitan Housing trust and Presentation Housing Association.
• QUINTessential Homes (Quintain Estates, Assettrust Housing, Laing O'Rourke, Genesis Housing Group and Family Housing Group).
• First Base Partnership (First Bas, ABROS Enterprise, Bank of Scotland, Boleyn and Forest Housing Society, Lend Lease Europe, London and Quadrant Group, Southern Housing Home Ownership, and Stanhope).
• The London H2O Partnership (Taylor Woodrow Developments, Wates Construction, Network Housing Group, and Moat Housing Group).
• Key London Alliance (Circle 33 Housing Trust, Notting Hill Home Ownership, and Willmott Dixon Housing in partnership with Berkeley Partnership Homes).

The London-Wide Initiative site portfolio is made up of 12 sites - 187 London Road, Croydon; Holloway Road, Islington; Amelia Street, Southwark; Newington Butts, Southwark; Lymington Fields, Barking & Dagenham; Rowan High School and Brenley site, Merton; Catford greyhound stadium and rail site, Lewisham; Wandsworth Southside, Wandsworth; Adelaide Wharf, Hackney; and East India Dock Road, Tower Hamlets.

The five consortia will be asked to prepare proposals for three sites initially: Catford, Elephant & Castle and East India Docks. The consortia will make their full submissions at the beginning of September with the result to be announced in January 2005. English Partnerships, the Housing Corporation and the Greater London Authority may choose two consortia for the work. Planning and design should begin in early 2005.

The LWI is expected to deliver 15,000 key worker homes within five years. The pilot phase, across the first 12 sites, is expected to deliver 3,500 homes.