Affordable housing JV, Golders Green

Affordable housing consultancy Askival has helped forge a joint venture between the Industrial Dwellings Society (IDS) and Kisharon.

The joint venture is aiming to redevelop Kisharon’s Adult Services site on Finchley Road, Golders Green, to deliver a mix of general needs affordable homes and specialist accommodation for, among others, graduates of Kisharon’s new £13.5m special educational needs school in Hendon.  It is also proposed to have a flexible non-residential space to provide ongoing learning and employment opportunities for Kisharon residents and the wider community, and a themed courtyard garden that will provide an exceptional amenity in keeping with the cultural and religious needs of the local community.

Askival director Malcolm Ward said: “Following a very successful collaborative process to establish a scheme concept that fits the brief of both clients, we are now working hard with Levitt Bernstein Architects and the design team to develop the design and obtain planning consent.”

Interim chief executive at IDS Jonathan Gregory added: “This joint venture with Kisharon is a welcome and positive step forward for us.  It takes a lot of hard work and skill to make London sites viable for affordable rent and we are grateful to Kisharon for being our partner on this one.  It will make an exciting contribution towards our housing development strategy.”

Kisharon’s chief executive, Richard Franklin said: “This forward thinking scheme is in keeping with our strategy to implement a cross-communal prospectus for people with learning disabilities to engage in the communities in which we live and learn.”

IDS manages around 1,500 properties in Hackney, Tower Hamlets, Southwark, Camden, Haringey, Redbridge, Barnet and Hertsmere. The housing stock includes flats, houses, sheltered housing, accommodation for people with special needs, as well as a number of shared ownership properties.

Kisharon‘s operations includes a nursery, school, college, social enterprise and multiple supported living schemes for students with special educational needs and adults with learning disabilities.