Legal and General gets green light for London build to rent development

The plans were approved by the planning committee of Waltham Forest Council and have now been passed to the Greater London Authority as part of the final approval process.

The London Mayor has previously said he will wave through developments that pass a certain affordability threshold but would make it more difficult for other projects to get planning permission.

L&G said its homes were developed for the mass-market and adhered to the authority’s current affordability criteria. The proposals included 25% affordable homes.

“This approval is very much a positive thing and we are basically there,” a spokesperson said.

The housing complex will be set on a former industrial estate in the heart of East London, close to Blackhorse Road Station. It will comprise five gateway buildings along the Walthamstow Wetlands, which are expected to deliver 440 homes, alongside cafes and communal spaces.

LGIM Real Assets fund manager Dan Batterton said: “This decision puts us on track to deliver hundreds of new homes in East London, offering high quality yet attainable accommodation on a flexible basis to suit the lifestyles of modern renters.”

The Walthamstow scheme is being developed and managed by L&G Investment Management Real Assets, with capital raised from Legal & General Capital in partnership with Dutch pension fund PGGM.

The partnership, which was established earlier this year, plans to invest £600m into building purpose-built private rental housing across the UK, providing more than 3000 homes.

Alongside the Walthamstow scheme they are also developing two sites in Bristol and Salford.

L&G has already invested £8bn in UK infrastructure, direct investments and urban regeneration projects and plans to invest a total of £15bn.