A ground breaking ceremony has heralded the start of construction at Peabody’s £120m regeneration of the St Johns Hill estate in Clapham Junction. 
 
Designed by Hawkins/Brown architects, the total development will provide 528 new homes (up from the existing 353) in a mix of 1, 2, 3 and 4 bedroom apartments. 279 homes will be affordable (social rent and intermediate housing) and 249 for private sale.
 
The scheme will also include 13,200 square meters of open space, a new public route from Clapham Junction station to Wandsworth Common, commercial space and a new community hub.
 
Residents joined Wandsworth Council leader Ravi Govindia, Peabody Chairman Christopher Strickland, and representatives from contractor John Sisk & Son Ltd, at the St John’s Hill estate community centre to celebrate the start of works on site.
 
Christopher Strickland said:
“Today is an important milestone in bringing to life our vision for exemplar Peabody communities in the 21st century, by creating high quality affordable homes to rent and buy where people will be proud to live, great open spaces, and facilities which will become an integral part of the wider community.”
 
Owen Sisk, Director at John Sisk & Son Ltd, commented:
 
“As a family business, we are excited to be at the heart of this regeneration providing this community with the quality of homes it has long deserved. In addition to creating new homes for 153 families in the first phase, we will also create a sustainable legacy through maximising training and employment opportunities for the local community.”
 
The regeneration of St John’s Hill is a flagship project for Peabody, which aims to build 1,000 homes a year from 2015. The scheme will be delivered in 3 phases, with phase 1 due for completion in the summer of 2016.