The Greater London Authority yesterday exchanged contracts on a £250 million “build now pay later” deal to redevelop the 83-hectare site of the former Cane Hill asylum at Coulsdon.
Cane Hill is the site of the former mental hospital famous – notorious? – as the enforced home for the mother of Charlie Chaplin and the brothers of both David Bowie and of Michael Caine. Not many people know that, you might say.
Although this is a scheme with a significant investment of public funds, and despite the well-publicised shortage of affordable council homes available in London and Croydon, just one-quarter of the 650 homes proposed will provide “affordable units”, leaving the developers to ensure maximum profit from the rest of the site.
It could also be observed that more than 400 prestige new homes will do little to harm the demographics of the Croydon South political constituency.
According to a report in Construction News, the builder will also provide up to 70,000sq ft of commercial space including business, leisure and retail.
Construction News says: “A central objective will be to integrate the derelict site within the surrounding area and to strengthen links with Coulsdon town centre. The aim is to submit a planning application within the next year and secure planning by the middle of 2014.”
In an formal statement from Barratt attributed to Mark Clare, the company’s chief executive:“This is a great example of high quality public sector land being brought to the market and largely developed on the ‘build now pay later’ principle.” The reading-between-the-lines bit of this is that the public is funding this, and Barratts will profit from it later. Nice.
And who is claiming the credit for this “wizard scheme” of using public funds for private profit? None other than London Mayor Boris Johnson! Anyone would think that Boris harbours some deep secret political ambitions to stand for parliament in Croydon South in 2015… (as was speculated by the Lord Ashcroft-funded website, Conservative Home, last month).
“This is a huge step forward in the development of much needed and quality housing on the site of what was an old and disused hospital, which has been derelict for too long,” Boris said, speaking in English rather than Greek, but showing a surprising masterly of the bleedin’ obvious.
“Supporting vital jobs in the construction industry, this project will also give a welcome boost to Coulsdon town centre.
“As we push on to deliver more affordable homes on public land, it is projects like Cane Hill which can help make neighbourhoods across the capital better places to live, work and invest in.”
Despite the Victorian buildings being badly damaged in a fire long after the hospital had been closed, the redevelopment plans for Cane Hill will renovate the listed former chapel and water tower.
Barratt Homes are among the clients of the West End-based planning PR company HardHat.
UPDATE: And hey presto, the day after the £250 million “we pay now, they profit later” deal is inked, Croydon Council’s favourite PR spinners Tweeted this gem of information:
@WhiteLabel5: Barratt Homes (@Barrattplc) are Principal Sponsor @DevelopCroydon Conference 2012, 27th Nov @FairfieldHalls, it’s great to have them onboard
How convenient, and purely coincidental, of course
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