Tustin Estate Reaches Financial Close

Our property development sister company, Linkcity has reached financial close on the first phase of the Tustin Estate scheme, a significant housing project for Southwark Council. Overall, the project will feature nearly 700 new homes. It’s the first large-scale project procured through Pagabo’s Developer Led Framework. 

Bouygues UK is the main contractor for the scheme which includes 250 replacement council homes and shared equity properties, 220 additional council homes including keyworker homes, and 220 homes for sale. In addition, it will feature a central park, refurbishment of existing council homes and at least 1,800 sqm of commercial floorspace. Works commenced in autumn 2022 and the whole project is planned to complete in 2030.

Southwark Council has been working for several years on the preparation of the redevelopment and put together the outline planning application, granted this October. Linkcity and Bouygues UK were selected by the Council in 2021 at the start of RIBA stage 2 design to work closely with the authority to advise on buildability in the development of phase 1 and the masterplan.  

The mandate for the project was established through a community ballot, and alongside Bouygues UK, Linkcity has communicated with residents from the start of its involvement to keep them updated on its plans. Residents have been able to feed back on and influence the various aspects of the project, including design, construction strategy and social value.  

The project is expected to achieve a 97% reduction on carbon emissions when in use. A large part of this is due to the clean energy being supplied by the local waste-to-energy district heating network. Additional measures such as high-insulation building fabric, solar panels, SUDs, and air-source heat pumps for individual houses will also contribute to this. Most of the demolition materials will be reused, demolition will be limited through refurbishing a section of the estate and Linkcity and Bouygues UK will raise awareness of subjects like biodiversity through workshops with the local school and the construction of bug hotels.  

Tom Jackson, development director at Linkcity said, “It’s fantastic that a project of this size can start work on site so soon after concept design work. It’s a real credit to the officers at Southwark who have worked so hard with the residents and us on the design of the scheme. We’re delighted to have started work on Phase 1 and we can’t wait to see the plans come to fruition. Alongside our construction partner Bouygues UK, we are committed to providing social and economic value through local employment and education opportunities and achieving a significant reduction on carbon emissions.” 

Cllr Darren Merrill, Cabinet Member for Council Homes and Homelessness, said, “I’m delighted that we have reached this important milestone in our redevelopment of the Tustin Estate. We will soon start seeing tangible results from all the hard work put into this project, and I’m proud that our residents have been so involved in the designs for their estate. This major redevelopment will provide hundreds of new homes, rejuvenate the area and bring enormous benefits for the local community.” 

Jonathan Parker, head of construction at Pagabo, added: “It would be difficult to find a better large-scale scheme than that of Tustin Estate to be the first procured through our Developer Led Framework. Connecting Linkcity with the London Borough of Southwark is set to create social and economic value for the local community following a fair and competitive tender process – ensuring the best outcomes for all involved. We look forward to seeing the scheme progress and the benefits come to fruition.”