Wates JV submits £1bn housing plans to mayor

A Wates residential joint venture has submitted plans for the first phase of a £1bn housing regeneration scheme in east London.Mayor of London Sadiq Khan will now consider the proposals from a Havering Council and Wates Residential JV for close to 200 homes in Rainham.The site is the first of 12 planned by the JV to deliver around 5,200 homes in the borough over the next 12-15 years.Havering hopes to double the amount of council-rented accommodation and more than double the number of affordable housing through the programme, known as the 12 Estates project.The JV said it plans to provide opportunities to local contractors to work on the £1bn programme with four ‘Meet the Buyer’ events for local suppliers already held.Havering Council claims that by the end of the project the investment in local businesses will make up a minimum of 10 per cent of the total programme, valued at £100m.Rainham-based Kilnbridge Construction Services has already been awarded a contract to undertake controlled demolition of two buildings on the scheme.Wates Group has also announced the appointment of a new non-executive director to its board.Chair of the Financial Reporting Council’s audit and assurance council, accountant Sue Harris will join the contractor’s leadership team.Alongside her responsibilities at the council Ms Harris also holds non-exec positions at a number of financial institutions including the Co-operative Bank, Schroders and the Bank of Ireland UK.She was previously chief financial officer of Cheltenham & Gloucester and group audit director of Lloyds Banking Group.