The Collective Wins Consent For Latest Scheme In Mission To Hit 100,000 Co-Living Units

Co-living developer The Collective has received planning consent for its latest London scheme, taking its pipeline past 8,000 units.

The company received planning consent this week from Wandsworth Council for its 292-room Garratt Mills scheme in Earlsfield, West London. It has received planning for three new London schemes this year in Earlsfield, Harrow and Hackney Wick, taking its open or under development UK portfolio to more than 2,000 rooms.

It has a pipeline of more than 8,000 units in the UK, U.S., Dublin and Berlin, and has a target of developing more than 100,000 units by 2025.

As well as scale, The Collective tries to have a focus on social impact with its schemes. It said it is seeking partnerships with local public bodies, such as South Thames College and local hospitals, to secure first preference on homes for key workers and existing local residents at the Garratt Mills project. All co-living spaces will be exclusively marketed to these individuals for a period of three months and 35% of the co-living rooms will be provided at a discounted market rent.

In addition, several spaces will be assigned to care leavers, as agreed with Wandsworth’s social services and housing officers. All these spaces will be available for a minimum of six months with members welcome to stay indefinitely, reflecting the residential nature of the area.

Garratt Mills is a former gunpowder mill. The development will commence in the first quarter of 2020. 

The project includes The Collective’s employment incubator and community space available to members and local businesses, and a riverside café. The ground floor will also include a multi-use community and performing arts space which will be available to book, at no cost, for local residents and organisations.

It will also have all of the facilities which are increasingly part of the offer in co-living schemes — wellness and mindfulness zones, a “Masterchef-style” communal kitchen, dining spaces and chill-out areas, as well as external amenity space including communal gardens and roof terraces.

“We will deliver new affordable accommodation available for local people earning £18K a year upward,” The Collective Global Planning and Strategic Communications Director James Penfold said. “We will deliver accommodation for care leavers, community and employment incubation space available free of charge for local people and businesses, significant financial investment to revitalise surrounding public space and infrastructure, and an ongoing community investment programme in partnership with The Collective Foundation that will deliver long-term benefits and social impact for the area.”

The Collective financed the project in partnership with Reditum Capital.