Be First ramps up its housebuilding ambitions

Be First, the development company set up by Barking and Dagenham council in east London to deliver regeneration across the borough, said it planned to build nearly 900 more homes than was first envisaged when the firm was set up two years ago.

Chaired by former head of the civil service Lord Bob Kerslake, Be First now aims to build 3,088 homes for the council, which is 880 – 40% – more than it planned when created two years ago.

Be First said around 75% of the total number of homes delivered would be affordable.

The extra homes will come at a price. Be First said delivering the council-funded pipeline of development activity would cost a total of £777m, £148m more than had been outlined in its 2017/18 business plan.

But Iain Ferguson, Be First’s commercial director, said the target, while ambitious, was “entirely achievable”.

Ferguson said Be First, which was kicking off work on a number of large schemes in 2019 to deliver more than 1,200 homes including Gasgoigne East (pictured), said he expected the business to deliver a cash surplus to the council at the end of this year.

“We are on track to deliver £49m towards council services over the next five years, which will help pay for essential services the government no longer funds,” he added.

Be First said it would also will also encourage the private sector to deliver 6,800 new homes over the next five years, on top of the new 3,088 homes it was planning to build.

Ferguson said it wanted private developers to ensure at least 25% of their workforce on their schemes were local people and that they improve delivery rates and build “as much affordable housing as possible”.