Affordable housing specialist Pocket Living has submitted plans for its first build-to-rent scheme, as revealed by EG in September.
The firm has submitted a planning application to the Old Oak Common and Park Royal Development Corporation for a 436-home BTR scheme at Atlas Wharf, NW10, comprising studios and one, two and three-bedroom houses. Some 35% of homes provided will be affordable.
The Grid Architects-designed scheme includes three buildings, all connected at ground-floor level, with a shared entrance, residents’ amenity spaces, cycle storage and commercial and retail uses that will be open to the public.
Pocket said it aimed to provide a rental option that is accessible to young middle-earning professionals in London through this scheme and others that it will deliver. It said it was shifting its focus into larger brownfield sites following the government’s re-emphasis on a brownfield-first approach to solving the housing crisis.
Marc Vlessing, chief executive at Pocket Living, said: “We believe that with unrivalled connectivity across London and the UK, Old Oak and Park Royal can become a thriving, inclusive and healthy new urban district, with huge benefits for current and new residents and businesses alike.”
Commenting on the firm’s debut in the BTR sector, he added: “With the maturing of institutional investment around BTR on one hand and most of the BTR focus at the higher end of the market, there was scope for us to deliver a BTR format that would sit comfortably with Pocket’s for-sale brand.
“All of our stakeholders are pointing in the same direction, and one of our key stakeholders is our consumer. For our customer, we know that a keenly priced rental product would get an awful lot of people into a home that they could consider their own for the long term.”
To send feedback, e-mail samantha.mcclary@eg.co.uk or tweet @samanthamcclary or @EGPropertyNews
