Mayor of Kingston at topping out of Square Roots affordable homes

The 100 per cent affordable scheme, comprising two attractive seven-storey and 13-storey buildings with brick facades, is delivering 125 high quality affordable rent and shared ownership homes, all with private outside space,  on the former Hawks Road Health Clinic site in Kingston, which became surplus to NHS requirements after health services were moved to other sites in the borough. 

There will be 44 apartments to be rented at London Affordable Rent (“LAR”) levels and 81 apartments available for shared ownership, with on-site amenities for residents including play space and landscaped podium decks. The LAR homes will be set at rents that the Mayor of London views as ‘genuinely affordable’ and will be let to local residents nominated by the council. The shared ownership homes will allow many medium income households to fund the deposit needed for homeownership.  London Square is acting as contractor/developer, with Square Roots as the affordable provider and Pension Insurance Corporation plc (“PIC”) as the investor. Construction of the main buildings is now under way. The development is expected to be completed by March 2026. 

Mayor Cllr Green unveiled a topping out plaque , assisted by Square Roots Managing Director Barbara Richardson,  Hayley Rees, Managing Director, PIC Capital, and Clare Coghill, Chair, Square Roots. 

Also in attendance from the Royal Borough were Cllr Alison Holt,  Cllr Ian Manders and Cllr Olly Wehring, with Rasheed Rahman from PIC, which invested £50m in the scheme. The development was also made possible through a £4.9 million grant from the Mayor of London’s Affordable Housing Programme.  

Mayor Cllr Green

“I very much enjoyed the opportunity to play a part in celebrating such a significant milestone in this new development’s progress at the topping out ceremony. I’m really looking forward to these new, affordable homes being completed and seeing residents move in next year.”

Barbara Richardson, Managing Director Square Roots

“We are delighted to mark the progress on the delivery of these affordable homes and welcome our partners, PIC, and the Mayor of Kingston and fellow councillors to our second site in Kingston.  We look forward to our new residents moving into  high quality, well designed homes in a location within walking distance of the town centre and with excellent transport links. Our  partnership with PIC and funding from the Mayor of London has enabled us to deliver another 100 per cent affordable scheme, making an important contribution to the housing shortage and to the local economy in Kingston.”

Although established by London Square, Square Roots remains independent, with a separate board and governance in place. Square Roots was established in 2021 and became a Registered Provider in 2022. Its first schemes in Kingston and Lewisham have won major awards. Recently, the London Borough of Southwark became the first London borough to make Square Roots an approved provider of affordable homes.  

Since registration in June 2022, Square Roots has under management 437 homes, with 1,090 homes under construction across six local authority areas in London.  Of the committed 1,527 homes, 60% are rented and 40% are shared ownership. Square Roots has deployed or committed to date over £577m of capital, including £140m of grant funding from the Mayor of London’s Affordable Housing Programme. Square Roots  has committed to 10,000 new affordable homes over the next 10 years across the capital. Square  Roots generated more starts on site in London in 2024 than any other for-profit providers,  in the London Boroughs of Bexley, Lewisham, Kingston, Southwark, Waltham Forest and Barnet, with an active planning pipeline across Greater London. www.squareroots.co.uk