Under government plans some of London’s most infamous prisons could be sold off and converted to residential. EG crunches the numbers to find out how much development could be unlocked
Victorian prisons in inner cities are to be sold, creating more than £3bn of housing development opportunities in London alone.
Wandsworth, SW18; Brixton, SW2; Pentonville N7; and Wormwood Scrubs, W12, are all likely to be put on the market, with prisoners relocated to nine new prisons built outside London.
In addition, in this week’s Spending Review chancellor George Osborne announced the closure and proposed redevelopment of Holloway women’s prison, N7.
A high-security jail might not sound like everyone’s ideal home, but demand is expected to be high for the government-owned sites, which industry sources said could together provide space for more than 5,000 homes.
Local authorities will lose out on more than £1m in business rates currently paid by London prisons, according to Jerry Schurder, head of business rates at Gerald Eve. But the contribution of much-needed housing stock and the well-documented need to improve prison facilities are behind justice secretary Michael Gove’s reforms.
“ The disposal of these prison sites presents a great, but challenging in some cases, regeneration opportunity that in each area will contribute significantly to housing delivery to London”
Robert Fourt, partner in Gerald Eve’s planning and development and structured finance teams
