Developer picked for £276m GLA scheme in Barnet

Tom Copley, London’s deputy mayor for housing, said: “Building more of the genuinely affordable homes that Londoners need is a top priority for the mayor, who last year successfully met the ambitious target of starting 116,000 affordable homes across the capital. 

“I am proud to partner with Countryside Partnerships as we provide more of the homes Londoners desperately need and continue building a fairer and more prosperous London for everyone.”

The GLA’s requirements mean the affordable homes will be owned and managed by one of Vistry’s registered provider partners.

A proportion of the affordable shared ownership homes will be offered to the City of Westminster as part of a wider planning agreement which commits to achieving 50% overall affordable housing across three sites owned by the Mayor’s Office for Policing and Crime (MOPAC).

The scheme will also include community and retail facilities including a new nursery and social enterprise. Work is planned to start in summer 2025 and is scheduled to finish in 2030.

Greg Fitzgerald, chief executive of Vistry Group, said: “We are thrilled to have been appointed by the GLA and MOPAC for this transformative landmark scheme to deliver high-quality new housing for Londoners. 

“This latest agreement reflects the strength and resilience of our partnerships model, and we look forward to using our track record of successful regeneration and placemaking to create much-needed new homes and sustainable communities for the residents of Barnet.”

Just last week, Vistry agreed a £29m deal with a North West housing association for a scheme in Merseyside.

These latest announcements come after the house builder told Inside Housing that it had struck an increasing number of deals with for-profit providers as traditional housing associations cut back on their development plans.

Since Vistry acquired rival builder Countryside in a £1.25bn deal in 2022, the group has increased its focus on affordable housing delivery. The firm is merging its housebuilding arm with its partnerships business to focus on mixed-tenure affordable housing.