Local Schools Celebrate 1,000 Homes With 1,000 Books

Schoolchildren from Wingfield Primary School and Holy Family Catholic Primary School in Kidbrooke Village have been celebrating the completion of the 1,000th home on the development, receiving a donation of 1,000 books from Berkeley Homes to mark the occasion.  

Ahead of National Book Week, which begins on 2 March, 20 specially selected pupils and their headteachers gathered alongside Councillor Mick Hayes, Mayor of the Royal Borough of Greenwich, and Ms Elizabeth Parry, the 1,000th customer at Kidbrooke Village, to accept the donation of 500 books for each school.  Ms Parry is set to move into one of Kidbrooke Village's properties managed by housing association Viridian, moving from her previous home in Plumstead Common.  

Following a recent review of its proposals, Berkeley Homes has committed to providing an additional 175 affordable homes, 25 of which will be shared ownership.  Some 550 affordable homes have already been delivered at Kidbrooke Village, including 170 specially designed Senior Care properties.  Altogether Berkeley will deliver a total of 1,700 affordable homes in the borough when the development is complete.  

Councillor Mick Hayes, Mayor of the Royal Borough of Greenwich, commented: "It's marvellous to see the community develop and it's not just new residents who are seeing the benefit.  Encouraging young children to read is crucial and I am delighted the schools will benefit from this milestone."

Ross Silcock, Head of School at Wingfield Primary School, said: "We feel very lucky to have developed such a fantastic relationship with Berkeley Homes and this donation means a lot to the school as it will further support the children in developing their reading skills.  It's vital that our children have access to great books to read and this has certainly made them even more excited about reading ahead of National Book Week."

1,000th customer Ms Elizabeth Parry said: "I was over the moon when I first saw the house - I've finally got the big kitchen I wanted and it's a completely different atmosphere compared with my old area, which was quite old fashioned.  I'm so excited about living in Kidbrooke Village, and it's lovely to play a part in such a great event.  One of the things that drew us here is the promise of a real community and the way it's designed really works to bring the neighbours together."

Chris Miller, Head of Development at Viridian, said: "It's a pleasure to welcome Ms Parry to her new home in Kidbrooke Village and hope she enjoys it for many years to come.  We're thrilled that this landmark completion is a Viridian property - there's such a diverse range of housing options at Kidbrooke and we're proud to partner with Berkeley Homes in delivering many of the site's affordable and accessible homes."

Karl Whiteman, Divisional Managing Director of Berkeley Homes, said: "The 1,000th completion is an important milestone in what is a decades-long plan for Kidbrooke Village,
and we wish Ms Parry all the best for life in her new home.  It is important to Berkeley to deliver more than just housing - we want to form partnerships and give something back to the local community.  We're now looking forward to continuing our hard work in the area, including the creation of more homes and a brand new, permanent Village Centre for the community."

Ends

For further editorial information please contact:
Catherine Grindley / Alyona Levitin
Camargue
+44 (0) 20 7636 7366
cgrindley@camarguepr.com / alevitin@camarguepr.com


Notes to Editors:
Located in the Royal Borough of Greenwich, Kidbrooke Village is one of London's most significant new housing-led developments; the £1 billion regeneration project is the transformation of the land formerly occupied by the Ferrier Estate into a new community in partnership with the Royal Borough of Greenwich and the Mayor of London.

Achievements include 1,000 new homes already delivered to date alongside a new park, interim village centre, village squares and retail space.  Residents benefit from living in a safe and sustainable modern community in one of London's most desirable boroughs, with over 35 hectares of parkland and open space and 170 specially designed Senior Living homes. The regeneration has already created over 12,400 new jobs including 76 apprentices working in partnership with Greenwich Local Labour and Business.

Together with Viridian Housing, Berkeley Homes East Thames has been shortlisted in the 'Best Housing Alliance' category at the First Time Buyer Readers' Awards 2015, for their partnership at Kidbrooke Village.  

Kidbrooke Village comprises of four distinct neighbourhoods:

Meridian Gate
Centrally located within Kidbrooke Village, ideally positioned between the newly created Cator Park and established Sutcliffe Park, offering stylish apartments and houses.

Blackheath Quarter
Located to the North East of Kidbrooke Village, adjacent to the newly created Cator Park and home to a collection of outstanding apartments and houses.

Kidbrooke Village Centre
The hub of Kidbrooke Village, with Kidbrooke station on the doorstep and offering a wealth of amenities including: Sainsbury's Local, shops, cafe, health centre with more planned.

City Point
Situated to the South of Kidbrooke Village, City Point sits adjacent to Sutcliffe Park, an established Green Flag status environment.


UK First
Berkeley Homes subscribes to UK First.

The Berkeley Group has a 'UK First' marketing policy.  This was introduced in 2013.  It means the company launches all its developments in the UK first and every individual home brought to the market is offered to UK-based customers first or at the same time as overseas buyers.

As of the 16 October 2014, 91% of sales at Kidbrooke Village have been to buyers from the UK market.