Barnet Council’s Leader Councillor Richard Cornelius, senior housing colleagues and a fellow councillor have marked the official launch of Opendoor Homes as a Registered Provider.
Opendoor Homes will deliver an initial 320 homes for affordable rent for Barnet residents. These new homes will be owned and managed by Opendoor Homes, a subsidiary of The Barnet Group, which is wholly owned by Barnet Council. The new build programme is funded with a loan of up to £65m from Barnet Council.
The first site for the new homes will be Basing Way, Finchley Central, where 14 affordable new homes will be built on the site of under-used garages.
Pictured, from left to right:
- Derek Rust, Deputy CEO The Barnet Group
- Jeff Baker, Opendoor Homes Board Member
- Sharon Slotnick, Chair of Opendoor Homes Board
- Terry Rogers, Chair of The Barnet Group
- Councillor Richard Cornelius, Leader of Barnet Council
- Councillor Graham Old, Ward Councillor for Finchley Church End
- Paul Shipway, Strategic Housing Lead for London Borough of Barnet
By May 2017 building work is expected to commence on a number of schemes on infill sites in the borough, with the initial 320 homes due for completion by the summer of 2020.
Leader of Barnet Council, Councillor Richard Cornelius, said: “Over the next decade more than 27,000 new homes will be built in Barnet, the most in outer London, with a range of social rent, affordable and market rate homes. We welcome the HCA’s registration of Opendoor Homes and look forward to its support in the delivery of our Housing Strategy to 2025.”
Derek Rust, Deputy Chief Executive of The Barnet Group, said: “We are delighted to receive this endorsement from the HCA, to enable Opendoor Homes to start building much needed quality affordable housing in the borough. Barnet Homes has already delivered 43 council homes, and Opendoor Homes represents an exciting new way to help the council deliver affordable new homes for residents.”