Local Demand for King Alfred Homes
The King Alfred redevelopment will provide a mix and range of homes that will provide a substantial contribution towards meeting the City’s housing needs and local people are already registering their interest. In particular rising house prices and low wages are driving up the demand for the affordable homes designed by Frank Gehry.
Lorelei Scott, a newly qualified children’s nurse at the Royal Alexandra Children’s Hospital in Brighton, was forced to move out of the city because of disproportionately high rents. She said: “I would love to work and live in Brighton and Hove. I have lived in the area for more than twenty years but had to move back home with my mother because I just couldn’t afford to rent on my own. I now live in Lancing but it would be really good to live closer to the hospital as parking is so difficult and I don’t feel safe using public transport at night, particularly as this involves two buses and a train. Living at the King Alfred would mean that I could get rid of my car and take a short bus ride to work.
“Now that I’m a fully trained nurse I would love to get a foot on the housing ladder and I think it’s brilliant that the King Alfred could give me this opportunity. It would be a dream come true to have a flat on the seafront designed by Frank Gehry.”
The King Alfred development will create 276 affordable homes, including 200 shared ownership homes and 76 apartments available for rent. The cost of the affordable homes will be approximately 50% less than equivalent market values, with rents for a one bedroom apartment in the region of £70 per week.
Dale Meredith, Development Director of Southern Housing Group who are developing the affordable homes in partnership with Karis Holdings, said: “The demand for affordable housing in Brighton and Hove is very strong. Southern Housing Group’s recent developments in the city have all sold very quickly. We sold 90 homes on a shared ownership basis in Brighton and Hove in just the last nine months, which is indicative of the limited supply of affordable housing in the City.
“Whilst we have several more shared ownership projects in the pipeline the scale of the provision within the King Alfred project offers us a tremendous opportunity to make a significant contribution to meeting housing need in Brighton and Hove.”
Josh Arghiros, Karis Managing Director, added: “The King Alfred proposals give people in all income levels the opportunity to live in this unique development. Every home has been designed by Frank Gehry to an extremely high specification and a significant number of people have already registered their interest for a home in this unique seafront development.”
Last year a total of just 145 affordable homes were built in the city – the King Alfred plans will deliver almost double that number. This is an opportunity all councillors should embrace – the city just cannot afford to under-develop sites like the King Alfred.
Background Facts
Rental costs per month for Q4 2006:
- One bed flat – £ 653
- Two bed flat – £ 936
- Three bed house – £1,134
- Four bed house – £1,549
Average income multiples for a mortgage:
- One bed flat x 7.25
- Two bed flat x 9.48
- Three bed house x 11.94
- Four bed house x 15.35
Total annual need for affordable housing is 2,250. The annual shortfall in supply of affordable housing is 1,202 which is projected to rise to 7,212 units by 2011.
In excess of 8,000 people are on the Council’s housing needs register (i.e. they either have no home, are hidden households or their existing home does not fulfill their needs). The Council only owns 12,500 council homes.
The population of Brighton and Hove is predicted to increase by 33,000 over the next 20 years. 27,000 people will be of working age and hence seeking jobs.
Land Registry figures for Q4 2006 show the average property in Brighton & Hove now costs £248,062. The cheapest entry level property requires an income of £29,000 to purchase. The average salary in Brighton & Hove is £24,024 (Q4 2006)
Karis Holdings is a joint venture between ING Real Estate and Karis Developments
