Work has begun on the construction of affordable homes on an estate in Hendon.

A total of 217 homes will be built at the Upper and Lower Fosters estate Barnet Council Leader, including 75 extra care homes on the site of the old Cheshir House.

In July, Barnet Council leader Barry Rawlings was invited to lead a ground-breaking ceremony for the development.

Cllr Rawlings said: “The Fosters Estate is one part of Barnet borough’s ambitious housing delivery programme – the largest in the capital. We are building for and with our residents, respectful of our communities and proud of our heritage. 

“To achieve this, we know we must work in partnership with residents, whether that’s on community-led regeneration, or co-design of local services, in order to deliver new affordable homes, new facilities, public spaces and places to be enjoyed by all.”

The council says the scheme was co-designed with residents, neighbours and community organisations to decide what to build, where and how.

Feedback means the estate will retain an “open park-like character” with new community spaces and amenities.

Under the partnership, Barnet Homes will manage 60 homes at London Affordable Rent on the council’s behalf for people on the borough’s waiting list and continue to manage the entire estate, which will include the 75 care homes. 

Sage Homes will sell the remaining 82 shared ownership homes to part-rent part-buy customers in the local area who cannot afford to buy on the open market.

To increase the number of affordable homes, Sage Homes invested £46.6 million in the scheme and worked with the council to jointly secure a £7.32 million grant from the Greater London Authority (GLA).

Tim Mulvenna, chief executive of The Barnet Group, said: “We’re delighted to be working with Barnet Council, The GLA and Sage Homes and the Hill Group to be delivering much-needed high quality homes in Barnet.

“We have worked closely with existing residents at the estate to co-design the new homes, strengthening the community ties and enhancing the surrounding areas. This project further strengthens our home-building credentials.”

Simon Trice, Managing Director of The Hill Group, said:

“We are delighted to be working in partnership with Barnet Homes to deliver these much needed affordable homes.

“We have extensive experience working in partnership to ensure the effective delivery of community-led estate regeneration projects and are looking forward to utilising our skills to create high quality homes that benefit the local community for many generations.”