New tenants to move in as phase two of Harlow’s Atelier completed

10 Mar New tenants to move in as phase two of Harlow’s Atelier completed

Phase two of the Atelier housing development in Harlow (formerly The Briars, Copshall Close and Aylets Field) has been completed.

The £71m regeneration of the The Briars, Copshall Close and Aylets Field (BCA) estates is a joint partnership between Harlow Council, Countryside Properties, and Home Group, and is helping to provide much-needed homes for people on the council’s housing needs register. When completed, Atelier will include total of 346 new homes, comprising 93 social and 73 affordable homes for rent, 35 shared ownership homes and 145 private sale homes are being built across the three phases of the project. Over 48% of the homes will have been allocated to people on Harlow’s housing needs register.

Phase one of the project was completed in June 2018, which provided 33 social rent (council rent levels) and affordable rent homes (housing association rent level), 20 shared ownership properties and 50 private homes. The second phase of the redevelopment was completed with the handover of a block of 16 affordable rent flats that will be managed by Home Group. In total the second phase will provide 144 homes. Forty-two of these will be social rent, 41 will be affordable rent, 15 will be shared ownership and 46 will be sold on the private market.

The first phase also included the building of a community centre, which is now used for a range of activities by the whole community.

The development is providing a range of different tenures (social rent, affordable rent, shared ownership and private) to give housing opportunities to both those in housing need and for those who are looking for their first home or a larger home.

A special ceremony was held to mark the occasion on Monday 2 March 2020, with leader of the council, Councillor Mark Ingall, doing the honours. He said:

“One of Harlow Council’s priorities is to deliver more and better housing and I’m pleased to say that, here, that’s exactly what’s been produced.

“The completion of phase 2 is a key milestone in the redevelopment of this estate. This project has been many years in the making and has transformed the original estate of 218 outdated bungalows into a development of 346 properties that will be a mix of affordable rent, shared ownership and privately owned homes.

“All the existing tenants were supported to be rehoused over three phases, and every tenant from the old estate was offered a new home on the new development ensuring that this regeneration benefitted local residents.

“All the social and affordable rent homes will be allocated to people on our housing needs register. Eventually, across all three phases, there will be a total of 166 homes available to local families.

“My thanks go to all the Harlow Council officers who have been involved in making this project a success, and to Countryside and Home Group for their continued partnership and support.”

Phase 3 of the Atelier development is in the process of being built out. Work is progressing well, with completion expected early in 2021. The 50 affordable housing units in this final phase are expected to be handed over between June and August 2020.