Thames Valley Housing and Kier selected to provide affordable homes in Woking

The joint venture, named Evolution, will construct 224 affordable social rented homes and 149 private homes, and will manage and maintain the affordable accommodation for the duration of the 25-year contract.

Evolution will consult the general public in early 2013 in order to submit a detailed planning application. Construction of the development is expected during the summer of 2013. The 224 affordable social rented homes will be occupied by housing association tenants, and will remain rented affordable housing.

Woking Borough Council secured £40.5m of funding for the project from the Department for Communities and Local Government. The project will be run as a private finance initiative (PFI).

"There are many local people on our Housing Register waiting for decent, affordable social housing. This project will significantly help them and contribute to meeting the Council's housing strategy through a step-change in the provision of social housing within the Borough", said councillor David Bittleston, chairman of WBC's PFI project board.

"In the present economic climate demand for housing far outstrips supply and the lack of bank finance has severely restricted housebuilders’ ability to bring forward new properties," said Geeta Nanda, chief executive of Thames Valley Housing. "The provision of affordable housing has never been more important or necessary and our ability to deliver on projects of this kind has played a large factor in winning this significant contract.”

"The mixed tenure development will play an important part in addressing the area’s housing shortage and we look forward to working with Thames Valley Housing to progress the development," said Nigel Turner, managing director of Kier Property.