On Wednesday 16 July, The Worshipful The Mayor of Islington, Stefan Kasprzyk, spoke at a special event to celebrate the completion of an affordable housing scheme developed by Genesis Housing Group at

Many guests in attendance had been involved in the development, including architects, residents, the local school, Genesis staff and representatives of the Housing Corporation. Speeches were followed by a tour of the building.

The development consists of 23 units, including six town houses/maisonettes and 17 two-bedroom flats, of which two are designed for wheelchair users. The split between tenures is 10 rented and the remaining 13 flats are shared ownership (a 43% / 57% split, respectively).

The Winton Court scheme received funding from The Housing Corporation. It was designed by architects Cartwright Pickard and built by Kier (which sponsored the event). The site, formerly a basketball court owned by Islington Council was designed and constructed as a modular housing development.

The Mayor said "As a borough we have diverse range of housing. Our aim is to ensure that residents have the opportunity to live in good quality, affordable homes in safe, sustainable communities. With over 13,000 people currently on the housing waiting list, Genesis' project will form an excellent part of our plans to increase the amount of affordable housing in Islington. I would like to thank Genesis and Kier for putting on this event today and I very much look forward to working with them in the future".

Pam Lockley, Managing Director of PCHA, a subsidiary of Genesis Housing Group, said "Winton Court is an excellent example of how Genesis and Islington are working so well together to produce excellent results.

"Genesis has a considerable development programme across the south east. As a social investment business, we prioritise our customers and the communities they live in. Our role in building homes and providing services sits alongside a purpose which is to support our customers' aspirations surrounding their housing choices and other parts of their life such as employment and training."

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For further information about Genesis, or to send a submission, please contact

Diana Evans on 020 8150 4178 / email diana.evans@ghg.org.uk or visit www.ghg.org.uk

Notes to editors

Genesis Housing Group provides homes and services to tens of thousands of people across London and the south east. The Group consists of PCHA, Pathmeads and Springboard housing associations. It also has a charitable foundation, Genesis Community, and is one of the largest and most successful housing groups in the UK. Genesis Housing Group owns and/or manages more than 38,000 homes across London and the south east. Its overiding aim is to put customers first and provide excellent service to all.

Genesis has a very considerable development programme across the south east - with around 9,000 homes in its current development pipeline. As a social investment business Genesis prioritises its customers and the communities in which they live. Genesis' role in building homes and providing services sits alongside its purpose: to support its customers' aspirations surrounding their housing choices and other parts of their life such as employment and training.

Background to the Winton Court scheme

The Peabody Trust originally started work on the development and by the time Genesis got involved in 2004 the scheme had a 'resolution to grant planning' and Kier had been chosen after a two stage tender process. Genesis took over the scheme from that point. With the help of the local authority and Peabody the grant allotted to this scheme was switched to Genesis.

Steel pods complete with housing components including kitchens and bathrooms were manufactured offsite in a factory and delivered to the site for assembly. The result of this was a product which is sturdy and quick to assemble. It took three and a half weeks to assemble the building structure from ground floor to 5th floor.

The product was not only a different method of construction but also a different way of doing things. Unlike traditional forms of construction all major decisions had to be taken early and details which are usually dealt with further down the line had to be agreed up front. Genesis had quite a bit of interaction with the pod manufacturer, Caledonian, which is unusual.