Upton Gardens

Key Takeaways

• Negotiated the affordable and shared ownership specifications.
• Created clear lines of communication between the developer and the client.

What we did

London Borough of Newham have established Future Newhome Limited to purchase homes in the Borough and have a Development Agreement in place to purchase 211 new homes across the scheme including Affordable Rented and Shared Ownership/Intermediate rented.

Our experience in the negotiation of purchases (transfer of new homes) of this type, has enabled us to meet the objective of our client to provide much needed housing. Given changes in Future Newhome Limited personnel, we have been able to act as the client and steer them through the negotiations with the developer and finalise the Development Agreement.

To optimise values, whilst maintaining flexibility, we advised on specification enhancements which were negotiated and costed prior to signing of the Development Agreement, whilst the clients negotiating position was strong. As part of the negotiations, we were able to justify Liquidated Damages to the developer at a level to reflect the true costs of delay.

We have established a very constructive relationship between the developer and our client, understanding both sides key drivers and enabling variations to be simply and efficiently dealt with.

Our experience in reviewing the evolving design allows us to see that the contracted specification is met or exceeded.

We have undertaken robust design reviews providing the developer and designers with key guidance on unit layouts, design criteria compliance for funding and district heating installations. This early work has allowed us to ensure the client needs are met whilst allowing us to effectively administer the contract during construction.