John Lewis Partnership Pushes Ahead With Rental Homes

• Partnership aims to help address UK housing crisis and raise standards in rental homes 
• First applications for new homes in Bromley and West Ealing submitted today 
• Proposals would deliver almost 800 new homes and improved Waitrose shops
• Partnership affirms ambition to deliver 35% affordable housing on each scheme 

The John Lewis Partnership is pushing ahead with its commitment to build and operate much needed rental homes for communities and help address the UK’s housing crisis.

Today (30 June) marks a significant milestone when we submit our first planning applications for ‘build-to-rent’  sites at West Ealing and Bromley. Initial plans for a vacant warehouse site in Reading will be brought forward later this year.  

It follows our announcement in December last year of a £500m multi-decade joint venture with global investment company abrdn to deliver around 1,000 new homes across the three locations. 

‘Build-to-rent’ is a growing sector in the UK where homes are built with the sole purpose of renting to local communities, not to build and sell for a quick profit. It’s much needed to address the growing housing crisis and rising demand for rental homes as private landlords leave the market.  

Our proposed developments show a long-term commitment to raise standards in rental homes in these communities, where we have local presence through Waitrose shops

Our plans would see 428 new homes in West Ealing and 353 in Bromley, many of which would be affordable and targeted at key public sector workers such as nurses or teachers.  Our ambition is that 35% of the properties are affordable housing with a focus on provision for key workers. The average proportion of affordable housing in new homes developed in England in 2022 was 11.4%*.

Through our public consultations, we’ve worked with local communities, councillors and other groups to understand what they need from housing in their areas. Our approach to rental property aligns with our values of providing quality, service, sustainability while bringing something valuable to local communities. 

A public piazza is located at the heart of the developments with the surrounding high-quality homes and public spaces attractively landscaped . A new flagship Waitrose shop and cafe are also included at each location along with improved access for pedestrians and cyclists.

Other features include a resident lounge and dining areas with a fully equipped kitchen to encourage residents to socialise, as well as roof gardens, flexible work spaces and a gym.  The homes would be built for different sized households and designed to our high standards. Residents would have options for short and long-term tenure and the homes would be furnished by John Lewis. 

Later this year we plan to take over management services on three existing ‘build to rent’ sites across the UK. While these are not John Lewis-owned, the move will help us understand the needs of residents to help inform our own rental proposition. 

Nina Bhatia, Executive Director for Strategy and Commercial Development, said: “We’ve worked closely with local communities to understand their needs and we’re now ready to submit planning applications. Working with our partner abrdn, we want to bring much needed new homes with a community feel to Bromley and West Ealing, which will include the full commitments to affordable housing.”

*Source: Department for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities

Source : John Lewis Partnership

Images : Render of John Lewis Partnership rental properties in West Ealing

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