PRESS RELEASE
FIRST LONDON-WIDE INITIATIVE DEVELOPMENT IS COMPLETED

Work is complete at Adelaide Wharf, the pioneering mixed-tenure scheme, developed by First Base. This is the first site to be completed under English Partnerships’ London-Wide Initiative (LWI).

Urban regeneration developer First Base was joined by the Minister for Housing, Yvette Cooper MP and Baroness Margaret Ford, Chairman of English Partnerships, the government’s national regeneration agency, to celebrate the completion of the development located on Queensbridge Road, Shoreditch.

Yvette Cooper MP, Minister for Housing, said, “As the Prime Minister has set out we must build three million new homes by 2020 to help young people and families get a foot on the housing ladder. But we must also make sure that these homes are sustainable, affordable and the type of place where people want to live. Adelaide Wharf’s mix of social, affordable and green housing shows that it is possible to achieve these aims and I want to see more developers taking on this challenge.”

Adelaide Wharf has been built under the LWI to address the lack of quality affordable homes in Greater London. Up to 5,000 homes will be developed across 15 sites owned by English Partnerships, of which around 1,500 will be available at discounted prices, with homes for sale for key workers and first time buyers. Demand for homes at Adelaide Wharf was high, with all 147 apartments sold prior to completion.

Baroness Margaret Ford, Chairman of English Partnerships, commented, “This stunning development demonstrates that the London-Wide Initiative is achieving its main objective of delivering high quality, affordable homes where they are needed most.  This is just the start though, and over the next few years many more of London’s key workers will benefit from the security of having a stake in their own homes and the communities they live in."

Built around a substantial landscaped garden, the development includes 74 key worker and affordable homes, 73 private homes and 700 square metres of affordable workspace. Designed by renowned architects Allford Hall Monaghan Morris (AHMM), and built using modern construction methods, Adelaide Wharf is at the cutting edge of urban living. The high quality, well designed, sustainable development has attained a number of industry leading standards including the Government's EcoHomes ‘Excellent’ and the Metropolitan Police's Secured by Design.

Elliot Lipton, Managing Director of First Base, comments, “As the first LWI scheme, it was important that Adelaide Wharf provided us all with a suitably high benchmark to work from going forward. We are confident that we have achieved this, and now are keen to help develop the community we have created. First Base was set up in response to a real need in London for quality mixed tenure homes, and the fact that all the homes at Adelaide Wharf sold before completion, proves that this need is being met.

“Adelaide Wharf is a visible manifestation of the benefits of collaboration and partnership, and our partner English Partnerships has played a vital role in achieving this outcome. We are committed to ensuring the success of mixed-use, mixed tenure schemes across London and look forward to progressing our now significant portfolio of projects.”

Residents with begin to move into apartments at Adelaide Wharf during November.

-ENDS-

For further information please contact:                      
Jessica Gooch / David Lucas
Tel: 020 7908 6447 / 020 7908 6422                                                      
Email: jgooch@lexispr.com / dlucas@lexispr.com

For further information about the LWI please contact:
Anna Davidson
Tel: 020 7393 1940
Email: anna@ing-media.com

NOTES TO EDITORS:

First Base Limited
Transforming Urban Spaces and Building Communities.
First Base is the urban regeneration developer that creates stylish homes in great urban spaces.

• It transforms the way that properties are built - using best practice modern construction methods that keep costs low yet quality high, embracing sustainability and ensuring value for money.
• It transforms the way that communities are formed - with a mix of tenures, a range of homes, a commitment to high quality management and services that make friends of neighbours.
• And it transforms the way that style meets function - with attractive designs, inside and out, that do more than simply look good.

Designed by renowned architects, built by skilled craftspeople, managed by experts, First Base homes are quality, sustainable and affordable properties for purchase or rental.

First Base is currently involved in a range of projects that will deliver mixed-tenure housing in London and the South East. These include:

• London’s first major carbon neutral scheme on the site of the former Greenwich District Hospital
• Elephant & Castle regeneration
• Stratford City including the 2012 Athletes Village, as part of the Lend Lease consortium
• On behalf of the Blackstone Group, the regeneration of a site in Kings Cross to provide affordable accommodation to over 900 students
• A number of schemes under English Partnerships’ London Wide Initiative including Adelaide Wharf in Shoreditch and sites in Islington, Southwark, Greenwich, Westminster and Tower Hamlets
  

The company was included in the RIBA ‘Top 50 Clients’ survey for its innovative approach to quality design, using renowned architects including, Rogers Stirk Harbour and Partners, AHMM, Make and Fletcher Priest for a range of projects across the capital.

First Base is also a founding member of the UK Green Building Council. The organisation, launched in the Spring of 2007, aims to provide leadership and cohesion to the UK Green building movement, provide a single, powerful pan-industry voice to Government, facilitate knowledge sharing and spread best practice and raise the international standing of UK industry.

For further information please visit www.firstbase.com

English Partnerships is the government’s national regeneration agency delivering high quality, sustainable growth in England.

English Partnerships and the Housing Corporation are working with the Department for Communities and Local Government to establish the proposed new homes agency.

Information on projects and programmes can be found at www.englishpartnerships.co.uk

The London-Wide Initiative (LWI) is a government-backed scheme managed by English Partnerships which enables key workers to buy their own home.  English Partnerships has purchased a range of 15 development sites across inner and greater London to deliver new, affordable homes in collaboration with the Housing Corporation. Under the Initiative, the government shares the costs and the benefits of homeownership with purchasers in order to make these homes more affordable.

Three development partners have been selected to work in partnership with English Partnerships to deliver homes through the London-Wide Initiative; First Base, Key London Alliance and a consortium led by Countryside Properties plc.

Key Features of the LWI scheme:

• Buyers must be able to afford around 50 per cent of the full purchase price of the home.
• Buyers will fund their stake through a combination of savings and mortgage and will be responsible for any mortgage repayments relating to their stake.
• Buyers must be employed in a key worker occupation as defined by the Government. The list can be found here: http://www.communities.gov.uk/index.asp?id=1151222
• Key workers living and working in the London boroughs where LWI operates will be prioritised but key workers from a wider area may be considered.
• Eligible buyers may have a maximum household income of £60,000.
• Government will assist with around 50 per cent of the full purchase price.
• No rent or interest is paid on the Government-retained stake.
• LWI homes are offered on a leasehold basis.
• Buyers own the property, but their financial stake in their home is limited to the percentage of the value that they buy.
• If the buyer decides to sell, the Government shares in any increase in value of the property based on its level of investment.
• Buyers can sell their LWI home on the open market regardless of the price they paid.
• In some but not all LWI schemes, buyers can purchase more of the equity of the property over time. This is called staircasing.
• Regional HomeBuy Agents assess and approve buyer eligibility for LWI.
• The LWI scheme operates in Inner and Greater London.