Press release

• Pocket Living gains support from Harrow Council to build 149 new affordable homes on the former Halfords site on Sheepcote Road, the first Pocket homes in the borough
• The discounted homes will be available to people living and working in Harrow, supporting local people onto the property ladder
• The first-time buyer market remains buoyant and demand for affordable routes to home ownership continue to grow as Londoners look to find their own space post-pandemic

On Wednesday (17 March) evening, Harrow Council’s Planning Committee voted to grant permission for 149 new homes to be built by Pocket Living on the disused site of a former Halfords store.

The support from councillors is recognition of the pent up demand for accessible, alternative routes to home ownership, adding to Pocket’s growing development pipeline of over 1,000 homes across London.

The new affordable homes, offered to local people at a 20% discount to market rate, will be built on the site of a former Halfords retail warehouse and adjoining carpark.

The development will be Pocket’s first in Harrow, building on their success in other West London boroughs, including Ealing, Hounslow and Hammersmith & Fulham.

Designed by award-winning architects Threefold, the scheme will offer 149 one-bedroom homes, 16 of which will be wheelchair accessible.  The building will encourage a sense of community living with landscaped ground floor gardens featuring allotment beds, and communal roof terraces on the fifth and eighth floors.

The development is set for completion in 2024.

Nick Cuff, Pocket Living’s Chief Commercial Officer, said:

“By Councillors voting unanimously for the second time in 2021 to support a 100% affordable Pocket scheme, a message was sent by Harrow that they are taking the housing crisis seriously.  The decision tonight is not only a real shot in the arm for Harrow’s town centre, it also prices in 42,000 Harrow renters into homeownership.

The homes will be affordable to 18,000 keyworkers in Harrow and earlier this month we reached out to our NHS heroes at Northwick Park hospital to make them aware that their employees can take the opportunity to benefit from this exciting project in the local area.

At Pocket Living we’re backing London to come back stronger from the pandemic by getting planning permissions in our local town centres and giving young Londoners the opportunity to own a stake in the capital.” 

Since launching in 2005, Pocket Living’s approach to affordable compact living has become increasingly popular, filling a gap in the market for middle-earning Londoners who want to remain living in parts of the city whey they work or grew up.  40% of Pocket’s purchasers are key workers.  To date, Pocket has built nearly 1,000 homes across London with over 1000 in the pipeline.

Pocket Living is currently selling homes at Addiscombe Grove in Croydon and Harbard Close in Barking.  To register interest in these schemes or to be kept up to date about future Pocket developments, visit www.pocketliving.com

For more information, please contact:

Jenny Marshall / Ashley Rudge

jmarshall@camargue.uk / arudge@camargue.uk

07921 499 001 / 07725 242 298

NOTE FOR EDITORS

About Pocket Living

Pocket Living is a company that sells well-designed, local and affordable homes so the people who make a city tick, can also make it their home. The company was founded 15 years ago by Marc Vlessing and Paul Harbard to inject a dose of innovation into a failing housing market.

Pocket Living is also a high-profile national and London-wide campaigner for more affordable housing in the capital. Pocket homes are for the millions of young, middle-earning people who contribute to London’s economic and cultural success but can't afford to buy their first home.

About Pocket

Pocket is Pocket Living’s primary offer, an affordable home designed for first time buyers.

Pocket’s business model is to build affordable housing, without public subsidy, sold outright to buyers at a discount to the local market of at least 20%. Buyers of Pocket homes have to live or work in the local area and own 100% of the property from day one. Buy-to-let investors are excluded and Pocket leases ensure the homes remain affordable in perpetuity. Pocket owners also have to prove that they are resident in their homes every year to check that they are not sub-letting.

A video about Pocket homes can be found here: https://youtu.be/vaso1tUlxt4  

For more information visit www.pocketliving.com 

Twitter: @Pocket_Living

Instagram:@pocketliving