Decision Maker: Cabinet

Outcome: Recommendations Approved

Is Key Decision?: No

Is Callable In?: No

Date of Decision: December 2, 2025

Purpose:

Content: Cabinet:   (1)            agreed to the renegotiated Heads of Terms (HoTs) for a Deed of Variation to the Development Agreement as outlined in this report;   (2)            noted the splitting of the land payment apportioned to the Fellowship Square (FSQ) site and Willow House and the associated risk of the likely reduction in the Willow House land receipt as detailed in Appendix 1 (exempt) of the report;   (3)            noted the change in tenure for Willow House to be delivered as a 100% Build To Rent (BTR) scheme with previously assumed affordable housing at Willow House to be swapped to Block H at FSQ utilising already secured GLA grant - resulting in 46% Affordable Housing (AH) across the scheme; and   (4)            delegated authority to the Strategic Director of Place in consultation with the Deputy Leader (Housing and Regeneration), the Strategic Director of Resources and the Corporate Director of Governance and Law to enter into the Deed of Variation to the Development Agreement.   Options & Alternatives Considered LBWF has the right to seek alternative delivery partners for phases that have not commenced. This option would involve significant additional costs of reprocuring, delays to overall delivery by undertaking a lengthy re-procurement process and the risk of not finding an alternative partner due to the challenges involved with taking on a partially developed site. A positive partnership relationship has been developed between LBWF and Countryside and this is considered the best route forward to maintain delivery of the FSQ programme and ensure completion of the remaining phases. Therefore the option of seeking alternative delivery partners has been rejected due to the time required to reprocure, additional costs involved and likely unsuccessful result. Due to the challenges Countryside have reported of delivering Willow House on the original DA terms, LBWF have the right to test the DA in court to hold Countryside to the original terms. However, with Countryside demonstrating their continued commitment to the overall delivery programme and including delivery at risk, this option has been rejected. Additionally there would be significant, unnecessary, legal fees associated with this process. LBWF could resist revising the HoTs and continue with the terms in the current DA. This has been rejected as this would mean there would be no guarantees of when any land payment would be received, and the Willow House site could be stalled indefinitely. Current Countryside market value appraisals for Willow House, detailed in Appendix 1 (exempt) of the report, have been verified by LBWF’s development consultant and although is comparable against similar schemes on a unit basis, may not be achievable if the site was tendered to a different developer. Due to constraints of the Willow House site, a mixed tenure development with family sized homes would reduce viability therefore it is agreed a one and two bed development is more suitable in order to maximise the number of homes and deliver the highest market value. Additionally, Countryside are able to leverage economies of scale in their supply chain and are delivering the adjacent Patchworks site which will reduce the preliminaries and site setup costs which other developers would not benefit from. The revised terms provide improved financial terms for LBWF by guaranteeing a fixed land payment and timing of payment. Although there is a risk the Willow House land value could decrease, it is acceptable on the basis that Willow House can be redeveloped, delivering much needed housing, whilst simultaneously unlocking the remaining blocks at FSQ which can also deliver affordable housing. Agreeing to these terms does not obligate LBWF to acquire the 50 homes in Block H. By not agreeing to these revised terms, uncertainty will remain on the land payment date and delivery of remaining housing at Fellowship Square and Willow House. Therefore, Cabinet is recommended to approve the HoTs to enable a Deed of Variation to the FSQ DA to be executed.