Meg Hillier, MP for Hackney South and Shoreditch laid a ceremonial time capsule at Wenlock Street in Hackney, on Friday to celebrate the collaboration between Genesis Housing Group and its partners as work on an affordable housing scheme for the area begins.

The filling of the time capsule was witnessed by local residents, community support officers and contractors at 1-3 Wenlock Street before it was buried by Steve Coleman, Group Director of Development, who shovelled sand on to it from a wheelbarrow in the development car park.

The speeches and ceremony were followed by tours of the site, taking in spectacular views of the London skyline from the top of one of the blocks.

Wenlock Street is an all affordable housing scheme comprising 117 residential units. Genesis purchased the site from a private developer in October 2006 along with planning consent for just 36 affordable housing units - the minimum number of affordable units required by legislation. Genesis then obtained support from Hackney to deliver the scheme as 100% affordable - and its bid was successful for grant funding for the remaining 86 units.

The scheme is being delivered through the Logic Homes' partnership alliance of which Genesis and Hill Partnerships are shareholders.

Representatives of local residents groups and businesses submitted items for inclusion in the capsule. These included a copy of the Hackney Press newspaper, floor plans, national newspapers, signed photographs from local residents, the Wenlock Barn newsletter and Genesis Housing Group company information. A plaque marks the exact spot where the capsule is buried.

Genesis is working with Islington and Shoreditch Housing Association on this flagship scheme for Hackney, to deliver the scheme by May 2009. Building works started in March 2007.

Meg Hillier, MP for Hackney South and Shoreditch, said "This is a great day to celebrate the collaboration of all the parties who have been involved in this project. This represents a wonderful example of how Hackney is making a real difference in providing all-affordable homes in the very heart of London.
This development will make a huge difference to the lives of those who live there, particularly to key workers".

Steve Coleman, Group Director of Development at Genesis Housing Group, said "Genesis is extremely pleased to be marking the start of this 100% affordable scheme and to be building on our relationship with Hackney for our first development here in Wenlock Barn. This project will deliver critically needed affordable housing in this city centre location and will no doubt improve the lives of many Hackney residents."

Councillor Jamie Carswell, Chief Executive of Hackney Council, said "We need to ensure our services are working together to meet the housing needs of families. It is a credit to Genesis' co-ordinated approach on the project that this development is really taking shape and making a difference to residents in the area. It's great to see how many people have contributed to the time capsule, there's a real community feel already to this project and it's so nice to see lots of people involved in this development even at this early stage."

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For further information about Genesis, or to send a submission, please contact

Diana Evans on 020 8150 4178 / email diana.evans@ghg.org.uk

Notes to editors

Genesis Housing Group provides homes and services to tens of thousands of people across London and the south east. The Group consists of PCHA, Pathmeads and Springboard housing associations. It also has a charitable foundation, Genesis Community, and is one of the largest and most successful housing groups in the UK. Genesis Housing Group owns and/or manages more than 40,000 homes across London and the south east. Its overiding aim is to put customers first and provide excellent service to all.

Genesis is one of the largest registered social landlords operating in London. Hill Partnerships are the builder and they operate a considerate contractor's scheme. The project is based on a partnering contract which has meant that savings have been reinvested in the project to upgrade finishes. The architects are Stephen Davy Peter Smith Architects, based in Hackney.

Genesis has a very considerable development programme across the south east - with around 9,000 homes in its current development pipeline. As a social investment business Genesis prioritises its customers and the communities in which they live. Genesis' role in building homes and providing services sits alongside its purpose: to support its customers' aspirations surrounding their housing choices and other parts of their life such as employment and training.

Pathmeads, part of Genesis Housing Group, has a long association with the London Borough of Hackney, providing housing management services to their homes since 1999. More recently Genesis has been selected by the Wenlock Barn Tenant Management Organisation (TMO) to provide housing management and maintenance services to over 1,500 homes in this neighbourhood. In fact they will be providing the service from the commercial units at the bottom of this block.

Wenlock Street is an all affordable scheme - Genesis purchased the site (117 units) from a private developer in October 2006 along with the planning consent for just 36 affordable housing units - the minimum number of affordable units required by legislation. Genesis obtained the support from Hackney to deliver the scheme as 100% affordable and our bid was successful for grant funding for the remaining 86 units.

Because space standards for affordable housing are higher than those for private developers (units grew by 1m in one direction and 400mm in the other), the overall footprint of the building increased and Genesis had to obtain new planning consent for the revised building size while the scheme was under construction. Hackney and the Housing Corporation provided support throughout. Genesis is developing the scheme in association with Islington Shoreditch Housing Association (ISHA), a local housing association which was named on the original private planning consent.

This project will now have 117 residential units in two blocks of four and eight storeys and a commercial/retail unit on the ground floor and basement. There will be an underground parking garage for 46 car parking spaces. In the smaller block there are 26 units for rent and in the other, 35 units for rent and 56 units for shared ownership sale. They will be offered to qualifying purchasers on a 45% equity basis, allowing lower income earners who are first time buyers to get on the housing ladder.

The ground floor outdoor areas will be landscaped and include a public pedestrian walking route though the site. All flats will have generous balconies. Many of the units are family units, with 3 and 4 bedrooms; some of these are two storey maisonettes.