Crown Estate hands over 500 homes to Peabody Housing Association - £143m sale rubber-stamped for Cumberland Market

Published: 13 January 2011
by DAN CARRIER

CONTRACTS between the Crown Estate and housing association Peabody have been exchanged and will see over 500 homes in ­Camden Town handed over for £143million in the coming weeks.

The sale of the homes in Cumberland Market have been at the centre of a ferocious war between the tenants, who did not want their homes sold from under them, and their landlords, who have managed the estate for 80 years. 

This week, the Crown’s board rubber stamped the deal, and in an exclusive interview with the New Journal, the body’s “Urban Asset” manager, James Cooksey, defended the heavily criticised conduct of the Crown during the two-year period that they had the homes on the market. 

Mr Cooksey said they had listened carefully to what the tenants wanted – and the result was that Peabody would take over some time in the spring. He also vowed that the terms of the tenants’ leases would be “exactly the same” as they are now. 

He said: “We went through two rounds of consultation and there was no question in the first round that the feedback was people were very happy with the Crown Estate. 

“When we asked what the concerns were, they said rent levels, the break-up of the community, and length of tenure. The board has addressed all of these issues.”

He also defended how the sale had been managed. They had been criticised for launching “Project Blue”, a top secret board-level plan to see how much the estate could fetch on the open market behind the backs of the people who live there. 

He said: “We went public when there was something to talk about. It would not have been right to do it any sooner.”

Mr Cooksey confirmed that private developers had made enquiries but would not be drawn on names or bids. It has been reported that speculative landlord group Grainger were interested and there were offers tabled of £250m. 

He said: “We have expressions of interest from big private and registered social landlords.”

He would not confirm the final sale price. He added: “Until we completed the transaction, we will not comment on the price.”

Barrister Robert Latham, who gave legal advice to the Cumberland Market Residents’ Association, said Crown Estate had treated their tenants with disdain – and praised tenants for forcing the board to sell the homes to a social landlord instead of flogging them to the highest bidder.

He said: “It is a matter of great regret that the Crown Estate have decide to give up their role as social landlords.”