
The John Lewis Partnership is to start work on building 170 rental homes in Reading - its third major planning consent in 18 months.
Cementing its aspiration to become a major build-to-rent (BTR) player, Reading councillors approved the plan on a former industrial site at Mill Lane, which previously housed a distribution centre. It follows recent landmark approvals for John Lewis in West Ealing and Bromley that will see it become a landlord of almost 1,000 new rental homes.
About one in six of the 170 homes in Reading will be affordable, with no difference in design, specification or service compared with market-rate homes, according to the firm. Local residents will be given first refusal on the mix of one, two and three-bedroom apartments, while each will be powered using an air source heat pump.
The £70 million scheme will regenerate an underused brownfield site to deliver energy-efficient homes, with indoor space for fitness, homeworking and socialising, and landscaped communal gardens.
John Lewis believes it has embedded a "customer-first service DNA" into its rental business, with training and data-led insights already improving performance across other sites. "This approach has reinforced the quality and trust attached to the John Lewis brand while creating a platform to assess further brownfield opportunities across its estate."
“Our ambition is to take the reputation we have built for service and trust into housing, ensuring residents feel the same quality and care that has defined our brand for generations, explains Katherine Russell, director of build-to-rent for the John Lewis Partnership.
Anne Breen, global head of real estate at its joint venture partner, Aberdeen, adds: “Build-to-rent, done well, could go a long way to transform the UK’s private rental stock, much of which is aging, to become places people truly want to live and call home.”
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