CDT announce groundbreaking partnership with developer Halcyon
CGI render of how the site at 115-119 Walls Rd will look
Affordable circular economy workspace for the local community guaranteed for 99 years as part of forthcoming co-living development of the site that currently is home to The Loop.
The CDT is excited to announce our innovative new partnership with Halcyon Development Partners, bringing forward a mixed-use development of new homes and local workspace in Hackney Wick, and demonstrating a blueprint for how the delivery of much-needed housing can also benefit an area’s existing communities.
A LASTING LEGACY
The London Legacy Development Corporation, in exercising its planning powers for a final time before the recent transfer back into the control of the four Olympic growth boroughs, granted permission for Halcyon’s plans for 115-119 Wallis Road.
The site is part of the wider regeneration aspirations for Hackney Wick, which were originally drawn up in 2016 through a strategic masterplan. 115-119 Wallis Road currently includes three mid-century warehouses adjacent to the historic Eton Mission Rowing Club.
The site will be redeveloped to make way for a new building (pictured above) comprising 337 co-living homes alongside a new 7,000 sq ft, long-term home for the Hackney Wick and Fish Island Community Development Trust, on the site where we’re currently running circular economy hub The Loop.
The plans, designed by local Hackney architect Morris & Company, also include extensive public external areas including a courtyard and a new square adjacent to the historic boathouse for local people and visitors to use. The scheme will be the first co-living scheme in the London Borough of Hackney and is expected to open in 2028.
ABOUT CO-LIVING
Co-living is a new and purpose-led form of housing for renters. It comprises high quality studio apartments with access to a range of communal facilities including gyms, workspace, lounges, terraces, cinemas and gaming suites. All bills are included in one monthly rent and the building is managed by a single operator providing a professional grade landlord platform.
Co-living buildings promote a strong sense of community and features a number of initiatives which prioritise wellbeing. As a result, and as demonstrated at Halcyon’s other operational buildings in Harrow, Earlsfield and Battersea, renters are benefitting from access to a higher quality living environment and not suffering from the typical historical problems that have plagued the private rented sector including poor quality accommodation, loneliness and negligible landlord practices.
ABOUT HWFI CDT AND THE LOOP
The HWFI CDT are currently operating an initiative known as The Loop in the warehousing on the Wallis Rd site, innovating the concept of a ‘circular economy hub’. It offers affordable workspace to local entrepreneurs focused on developing the next generation of net zero and ecologically purposed businesses.
The redevelopment will enable the HWFI CDT to set up a new long-term home on the site, further developing a groundbreaking, low impact circular high street model that has already picked up significant interest from other areas.
ABOUT THE PARTNERSHIP
The partnership between Halcyon and the HWFI CDT is bespoke, and came about through early engagement during the planning process and a recognition that development can and should create meaningful long-term benefits for local communities. Read the full story as covered recently by The Wick newspaper.
Within the development, the HWFI CDT will benefit from a rent-free arrangement for a minimum term of 99 years. This provides an unprecedented level of flexibility for the HWFI CDT to fulfil its ambition to secure the space and affordability that local creative entrepreneurs require to invest in the neighbourhood.
The creation of a long-term home for the HWFI CDT on Wallis Road will ensure that Hackney Wick continues to appeal to the creative industries as a place to thrive and develop new ideas.
It is hoped that this partnership provides a blueprint for London, and that more partnerships like this between developers and community providers can be facilitated to provide new homes whilst also benefitting other aspects of the wider community.
Neil MacLeod, Founding partner in Halcyon (and local resident): “We are thrilled to confirm that planning permission has been granted for our Wallis Road site in Hackney Wick. Alongside securing the regeneration of this key site we are looking forward to providing the Hackney Wick and Fish Island Community Development Trust with a long term home on the site, enabling fantastic opportunities for Hackney’s creative industries. This is a partnership we hope can be replicated across the development sector in London ensuring that local people benefit meaningfully from development”
Patrick Scally, Executive Lead at Hackney Wick and Fish Island Community Development Trust: “To preserve the rich social fabric of Hackney Wick, we believe that the community should not just be beneficiaries, but owners of the change they see in their neighbourhood. This site will deliver against that mission and sends a signal for all in the development sector to hear. The time is now to believe in our communities, give our communities voice and let them truly shape their future. We thank Halcyon DP and the LLDC for supporting this vision and working towards a more equitable future for East London.”
FURTHER INFO
About Halcyon Development Partners
Formed in 2021, Halcyon is London’s leading co-living developer, with an emphasis on sustainable and impactful co-living developments. Since 2022, Halcyon has delivered over 800 co-living homes for the COLIV portfolio, including a 270-home scheme in Battersea known as Florence Dock which opened in July 2023. Halcyon has a future 1,700 co-living home pipeline on sites across London and the South East including a site in Related Argent’s Brent Cross Town Masterplan. Later this year Halcyon is due to start the construction of 329 co-living homes in Woking with JRL Group.
About the Hackney Wick and Fish Island Community Development Trust
The HWFI CDT aims to preserve the rich creative and cultural life of Hackney Wick and Fish Island at a time of great change for the area. It is a community-led organisation with the purpose of securing ownership or long leases on buildings and spaces for the local community for the long-term. HWFI CDT works with landlords, public authorities, developers and the local community on a growing number of schemes that support and benefit local people. These include the Textile Reuse Hub and it’s Sustainable Young Makers programme, which supports local young people with careers in the fashion industry while reducing the waste output from the industry. It also includes the Circular Economy Hub, The Loop. Which is a catalyst for London’s transition to a ‘city of circular making’ that supports a cluster of circular economy businesses to trial, scale and collaborate on ‘circular making’ processes and to ensure these are visible and accessible to the local community.