Avison Young advises MoJ on successful disposal of Holloway Prison
08 March 2019The Land and Development team at Avison Young has advised the Ministry of Justice on the sale of the former Holloway Prison site to housing association Peabody.
The sale, which was announced this morning, will see Peabody develop a 1,000 unit residential scheme along with developer London Square.
Alongside the housing, which will be 60% affordable, the pair will also develop new green spaces, play areas, local shops and a Women’s Centre.
The head of Avison Young's Land and Development team, Tom Marshall, said; “Despite Brexit uncertainties, London remains a global investment capital, and this 10-acre site was one of the largest and most high profile development opportunities offered in the London market in recent years. The partnership being announced today will deliver much needed affordable housing and social infrastructure to the local community”.
Peabody secured the site using a £42 million loan from the Mayor of London’s Land Fund, which it will pay back in full. Islington Council had insisted that the eventual developer of the site would need to provide at least 50% affordable housing. Subject to planning consent, plans are to begin building work by 2022 and to complete the first affordable homes in 2026.
The Chief Executive of Peabody, Brendan Sarsfield, said; “We are committed to working with LB Islington and the GLA to deliver an exceptional new housing scheme on this historic site. We are pleased to confirm we will deliver 60% level of genuinely-affordable homes integrating existing Islington communities with a new Peabody estate. As well as providing new homes we will also ensure social infrastructure and placemaking are at the heart of our proposals. We are pleased to be working with London Square which is a continuation of our longer term relationship across a number of sites in London”.
The sale of HMP Holloway by the Ministry of Justice is part of their Prison Estate Transformation Programme, which aims to modernise prisons across the UK.
