‘Topping out’ ceremony marks major progress for Pocket Living’s 100% affordable scheme

The Deputy Leader of the London Borough of Waltham Forest, Cllr Ahsan Khan, has celebrated the ‘topping out’ of Pocket Living’s Forest Road development, which will deliver 90 new affordable homes.

The 100% affordable scheme will unlock homeownership opportunities for first-time buyers in the William Morris ward and the wider London Borough of Waltham Forest, with all 90 one-bedroom homes sold at a 20% discount to market values.

Pocket has over 2,000 eligible first-time buyers who live or work in Waltham Forest interested in buying a Pocket home. The development will provide an affordable home ownership model in a borough where the average house price is over £500,000. In 2019, Pocket completed its Gainsford Road development in Walthamstow with homes selling for an average of £267,000. A further scheme is also in construction at Osier Way, Leyton and will deliver 197 new homes this summer.

Tom Evans, a local first-time buyer who has bought a Pocket home at Osier Way, comments “I hadn’t even been considering buying because it’s just unattainable, but I saw the scheme and jumped on it. If it didn’t exist, I’d keep renting or would eventually move further out to buy.”

Once complete, the Forest Road development will also represent a key milestone in the partnership between Pocket Living and Legendre UK, the British arm of leading construction company Groupe Legendre. It will mark the first scheme that both parties have worked together on and follows a wider partnership to deliver homes for first-time buyers across London.

It is expected that the homes at Forest Road will be complete by early 2024, with the sales launch commencing later this year.

Thomasin Renshaw, Pocket Living Chief Development Officer CDO, commented: “The number of people aged 25 to 39 in the capital has dropped by almost 4% in the last 12 months alone. We know from our research that the lack of affordable housing opportunities is a key contributor to this. Cllr Khan and his team recognise this and we are delighted to be proactively working with them to help Waltham Forest’s first-time buyers onto the housing ladder.”

Cllr Ahsan Khan, Deputy Leader of the London Borough of Waltham Forest, said: “At Waltham Forest, we’re committed to building more affordable homes and investing in opportunities so residents can live, work, and thrive locally, remaining close to friends, family, and support networks. I’m pleased that we’re working with developers like Pocket Living to create this 100 per cent affordable housing scheme that prioritises Waltham Forest residents. It’s a great place to make a comfortable first home in Walthamstow.”

Pierre Pellerin, Legendre UK Operations Director, added: “We are delighted to have worked collaboratively with Pocket Living on this Forest Road development to deliver so many affordable homes for the benefit of the first-time buyers in Waltham Forest. As a contractor we are proud to play our role of delivering affordable housing and extend it much further thanks to our funding package with Pocket Living, which we are looking forward to replicating in the future.”