Brick by Brick’s latest flats to let for £2,400 a month – Inside Croydon

In Coulsdon, 157 flats have been empty for almost two years amid a housing crisis. But now, with the council silent on the multi-million sale of the properties, some are being made available for eye-watering rents. BARRATT HOLMES, housing correspondent, reports

Primary property: a small two-bed flat in Coulsdon could cost a tenant £27,600 a year in rent

If that’s what Jo Negrini, Tony Newman, Paul Scott, Alison Butler and Colm Lacey meant by providing ‘affordable housing’ when they set up council-owned Brick by Brick in 2015, then if they’re being prosecuted for nothing else, it’s worth something. severe punishment for crimes against the English language.

Almost two years since the Brick by Brick development of 157 ‘architect designed’ homes in what was a council-owned car park was completed, and the eagle-eyed Inside Croydon readers spotted a Reigate estate agent marketing some of the Red Clover Gardens flats on the market – some for as much as £2,400 a month.

In the midst of a housing crisis, with Croydon Council’s housing waiting list longer than ever, even a one-bed flat in this Coulsdon development – which cost the council so much money to build – will cost someone a minimum of £18,000 a year in rent. . Plus utility bills. Plus council tax…

This is considered to be the last of the Brick by Brick evolutions to be downloaded.

According to Maxwell Valentine, Reigate estate agents who deal with the flats (on whose behalf, they don’t bother to say), ‘Key features’ include the properties being ‘New build’ (completed in 2022), ‘luxury flats’ , “award winning architecture”, “parking options” (the apartments are next to what’s left of public parking) and “conceirge” (sic).

Croydon Council and what’s left of Brick by Brick, its wholly-owned housing developer, have struggled for months to find someone to take Red Clover Gardens off their hands in exchange for millions to help bring down the cash-strapped council mountain. debt.

An asking price of at least £40m was quoted for the five blocks – a mere fraction of the £200m loaned to BxB, which eventually bankrupted the borough.

It was late 2022 when it emerged that the Tory-controlled council was negotiating a deal with Notting Hill Genesis, a housing association, for them to acquire all the BxB flats on Lion Green Road.

Very high rents: how a Reigate estate agent markets Brick by Brick flats

Notting Hill Genesis pulled out of the deal in early 2023. They wanted the flats for at least £10m less than Croydon’s asking price.

But the board found another buyer, called Regen Capital, where they were to use more complicated, more opaque lease-back arrangements and other financial gymnastics. The Croydon Tories posted a self-congratulatory announcement on their own website in July 2023 stating that Regen Capital “…will acquire ownership of the development”.

When the public looked at Regen Capital, they were concerned about the company’s lack of capital to run a business or manage flats on offer at Coulsdon.

Cost of living crisis: Red Clover Gardens was to be a development of council houses as well as high-priced buildings.

According to Croydon’s Conservatives, and therefore Jason Cummings, the council’s cabinet member for finance, who will be behind the negotiations, “The council will take a long-term lease on the affordable units but immediately sublet them to Mears or one of they. registered suppliers.”

Tenants, the Tories said, “will become Mears tenants, the council is not involved in any day-to-day management of the premises or properties”.

Seventy-two of the apartments would be Regen’s for rent or sale, according to the conservators.

That deal had to go through cabinet and get Mayor Jason Perry’s approval, which it duly did. Everything would be done by August, we were told, the money was as good as in the bank.

Then tumbleweed again. The apartments remained empty, the deal still unfinished.

“It’s perfectly normal for organizations to set up a dormant business with little capital in order to negotiate property deals like this,” Cummings – until now the Tory parliamentary candidate for Croydon East – told a Town Hall meeting six months ago .

The board, Cummings said at the time, was conducting “due diligence” and checking “the records of the individuals involved.”

“When negotiations are completed, the final documentation will set out in clear terms the business relationships between the buyer, the financier and the lessee,” Cummings said.

Key features: “Guidance counselor”

No such “final documentation” has yet been made available.

In the little detail the council has been forced to reveal about the potential sale, it appears there will be a significant change in the occupancy mix of the flats, which would require retroactive planning consent. Also, this issue has never been resolved, at least not publicly.

However, some of the apartments are available for rent.

“Maxwell Valentine is delighted to announce beautiful new one, two and three bedroom apartments in Red Clover Gardens in the heart of Coulsdon,” according to the estate agents.

“These stunning modern apartments are set amongst generous gardens and greenery, offering the perfect balance of modern living in a beautiful and peaceful location.

Empty houses: Architecture correspondents in posh Sunday papers waxed lyrical about Mary Duggan’s architectural designs for Coulsdon’s Lion Green Road car park. But the properties remained unsold for nearly two years after completion

“The apartments are contemporary in design with open-plan living and kitchen areas, fitted with state-of-the-art appliances and modern bathrooms, and all can be rented furnished or unfurnished.

“Each apartment has been designed with a dual aspect for maximum light, with built-in corner balconies offering views of the park and hills.

“Red Clover Gardens is within walking distance of Coulsdon Town Station and Coulsdon High Street, offering a variety of shops, restaurants and cafes. It is ideally located, offering a peaceful community atmosphere surrounded by beautiful green spaces, whilst being within easy commuting distance of the capital.”

It sounds wonderful. For those who can afford it.

But what is this? As soon as some apartments were rented, they were withdrawn… Perhaps the long-running saga of Red Clover Gardens is not over yet? Something Jason Cummings might find a bit awkward if questions arise as he tries to move on to bigger and better things as an MP.

Read more: Brick by Brick’s unsold houses are costing Croydon a fortune
Read more: Council risks being in the red over BxB’s Red Clover Gardens
Read more: BxB’s downfall was predictable. Why didn’t anyone else notice?

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