Topping out event at 100 Chalk Farm Road
Clarion and Arada London mark topping out in Camden with 30 social rent homes to be delivered at 100 Chalk Farm Road.
Left to right: Simon De Friend, Co-Founder, Arada London; HRH Prince Khaled bin Alwaleed bin Talal Al Saud, Executive Vice Chairman, Arada; Jonathan Seal, CEO, Arada London; Paul Eden, Co-Founder, Arada London; and Clare Miller, CEO, Clarion Housing Group.
Clarion Housing Group and Arada London today celebrated the topping out of 100 Chalk Farm Road, a development that will deliver 30 new social rent homes in Camden as part of a wider partnership between the two organisations.
The milestone marks progress on one of three sites where Clarion has agreed the forward purchase of affordable homes from Arada, alongside 100 Avenue Road and Jamestown Road. Together, the three schemes will bring 136 new social rent homes to the borough, built by Arada's in-house construction arm and designed to meet Clarion's social rent quality standards. Upon completion, the homes will be managed by Clarion.
The event saw guests from Camden Council join colleagues from Clarion and Arada London to mark the topping out, with those in attendance taking part in a ceremonial cement laying to celebrate the building reaching its full height.
“Reaching the topping out stage at 100 Chalk Farm Road is a significant moment for this partnership, and for those families who will soon call this development home.
“Camden needs genuinely affordable housing as much as any borough in London, and our work with Arada London shows what can be achieved when a housing association and a developer bring their strengths together. Across these three sites we are delivering 136 new social rent homes, and we look forward to seeing more of this partnership take shape in the months ahead.”
Jonathan Seal, CEO of Arada London, said:
“Reaching the top of the building is an important moment in that process, and we are looking forward to seeing the scheme completed and the first residents move into their new homes. Our partnership with Clarion demonstrates the value of bringing together the strengths of an integrated developer and a housing association to deliver affordable housing in one of London’s most constrained markets.
“Arada is proud to be playing its part in increasing the supply of genuinely affordable homes in Camden and across London, and we look forward to seeing this partnership deliver even more in the years ahead.”
Clare Miller, Chief Executive Officer at Clarion Housing Group, said:
"100 Chalk Farm Road is exactly the kind of development London needs more of, genuinely affordable homes delivered in an area where the need is desperate. Every one of these homes gives a family the chance to build a better life for themselves and their children. None of this happens without working in lockstep with partners and it's this kind of close partnership working that will keep new homes coming forward in the boroughs that need them most."
The partnership comes as London continues to face acute pressure on housing supply, with demand for genuinely affordable homes far outstripping delivery across the capital. Camden continues to feel this pressure with high land values and a shrinking pipeline of viable sites making it harder to bring forward new affordable housing in the borough. Partnerships of this kind, which combine a developer's ability to deliver at pace with a housing association's long-term stewardship, are increasingly central to keeping supply moving in areas like Camden where the need is greatest.