Peabody acquires Holloway Prison for £82m
Peabody has acquired Holloway Prison, N7, from the Ministry of Justice for £82m.
The housing association will work with resi developer London Square to deliver more than 1,000 homes on the 10-acre site.
The duo have proposed a 60% affordable housing scheme, with green spaces, local shops on Parkhurst Road and Camden Road, and a women’s centre.
Peabody has acquired Holloway Prison, N7, from the Ministry of Justice for £82m.
The housing association will work with resi developer London Square to deliver more than 1,000 homes on the 10-acre site.
The duo have proposed a 60% affordable housing scheme, with green spaces, local shops on Parkhurst Road and Camden Road, and a women’s centre.
The proposals are in line with planning guidance from Islington Council, issued in 2018.
The acquisition follows the MoJ’s plans to sell the site to A2Dominion and London Square last year, which subsequently fell through.
The Peabody acquisition was backed by a £42m loan from the mayor of London’s Land Fund.
The scheme will be designed by architect AHMM. The partners are aiming for construction to begin by 2022, subject to planning approval, with the first homes completed by 2026.
Brendan Sarsfield, chief executive at Peabody, said: “We are committed to working with LB Islington and the GLA to deliver an exceptional new housing scheme on this historic site.
“As well as providing new homes we will also ensure social infrastructure and placemaking are at the heart of our proposals. We are pleased to be working with London Square, which is a continuation of our longer term relationship across a number of sites in London.”
Prisons minister Rory Stewart said: “The sale of Holloway will help drive forward our commitment to replace ageing prisons with modern, purpose-built establishments. I am determined to see this money reinvested to improve rehabilitation and ultimately reduce reoffending.”
Holloway Prison first opened in 1852, and became the largest women’s jail in Western Europe, before it closed in 2016. During the 1970s and 1980s it underwent a 14-year redevelopment in which all of the Victorian prison was demolished.
The sale is part of the MoJ’s prison estate transformation programme. Former justice secretary Michael Gove announced plans in 2015 to close inner-city prisons and sell the sites for housing, reinvesting profits to help build new jails.
The Ministry of Justice was advised by Avison Young.
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