Merton council is readying a major portfolio of assets for a £1bn redevelopment plan.
A total of 47 sites across 48 acres have been identified in the south London borough’s ?local plan as having scope for redevelopment, including the provision for thousands of new homes.
Council leader Stephen Alambritis said: “If everything was to go swimmingly, then there is no logical reason why the end redevelopment value of all of these assets would not be over £1bn.”
He added that the initial ?sale of the mixture of council and privately owned assets would generate at least £100m.
The sites are spread across five areas within the south London borough: Colliers Wood, Mitcham, Morden, Raynes Park and Wimbledon.
Opportunities include ?converting the council’s offices at Worsfold House in Mitcham, Surrey, into flats, and transforming the 1-acre Hartfield Road car park in Wimbledon, SW19, into a mixed-use scheme.
Alambritis said: “We want the best developers and the people with the best ideas to come to Merton.”
Dominic Pasqua, a partner in Knight Frank’s Wimbledon office, said: “Delivering all these new schemes would be a great thing. Certainly in Wimbledon there is not enough supply ?to meet demand, and properties up to £2m are being sold days after being put on the market.”
The Land Registry shows that average Merton house prices have increased by 10% over the past 12 months to £372,680.
Meanwhile, new grade-A offices would be a welcome boost, according to Colliers International, with the agent saying current availability in Wimbledon has slumped to 133,600 sq ft – the lowest level in more than seven years.
The agent added that office developments in SW19 would also be attractive to investors, based on rents having risen by 10% to £33 per sq ft – the ?highest price since the start of the recession.
Merton has been devising its development opportunities list over the past two years, having identified an initial 80 potential sites.
The final portfolio of sites will be lodged with the department for Communities and Local Government next month for approval by the secretary of state.
joanna.bourke@estatesgazette.com
