Growth in new homes and opportunities
Welcoming new residents to our Phoenix Community
We are delighted to welcome residents of 1,500 homes in Grove Park to our Phoenix community.
We took on the management of these homes from another housing association, L&Q, following consultation with residents in 2021. The transfer has been designed to enable L&Q to help fund the development of more new, high quality homes in south London, while enabling Phoenix to grow our resident-led community gateway model.
The transfer means thousands more residents will be able to get involved with Phoenix, from shareholding and Gold Club membership, to involvement opportunities up to Board level.
Many Grove Park residents joined us for the first time at our Phoenix Winter Wonderland event in December 2021 and again for a welcome event at the WG Grace Community Centre in February 2022.
Phoenix Winter Wonderland event
WG Grace Community Centre
Grove Park in numbers:
Kathleen's story
Kathleen West has lived in her home in Grove Park for 50 years, recently becoming a Phoenix resident when we took on 1,500 homes from L&Q. Kathleen has been heavily involved in the WG Grace Centre since it was first built and has set up her own Senior Citizens Group.
"The group meets every Tuesday from 10am-4pm. We usually have crafts in the morning and bingo in the afternoon which is always good fun."
Kathleen West, Phoenix resident
I’ve lived in my home for 50 years and through several landlord transfers, from Lewisham, to L&Q and now Phoenix. I also used to work for Lewisham and was Centre Manager for the WG Grace Centre since it was built. I managed all of the bookings, cleaning staff, the money, everything!
I never really retired, although I finished my job with Lewisham I’ve remained at the Centre as a volunteer ever since. The Centre has changed a lot since it was first built, it used to be a real hub of pride and community. We had weddings here all the time and events. None of that happens anymore. The splendour of the centre has been lost over the years with neglect.
After I retired, one of the cleaners and I realised there wasn’t anywhere for older people to go so we set up the WG Grace Senior Citizens Group. The group meets every Tuesday from 10am-4pm. We usually have crafts in the morning and bingo in the afternoon which is always good fun. We’ve got about 50-55 people who join us. The group is thriving and we recently won funding from Phoenix’s Community Chest to put on a Christmas party and take a trip to see a panto.
With Phoenix as the new landlord, I’m hopeful that the Centre will regain some of its former glory. There’s a lot of work to be done but Phoenix are already getting involved and making improvements.
Building for the future
There is a major shortage of genuinely affordable homes in Lewisham and we’re committed to tackling this problem by building much-needed new homes.
In February 2021, we completed our Nuthatch House development on Whitefoot Lane, delivering 22 homes for affordable rent. Residents voted to name the new homes after the Nuthatch bird which can be found in the nearby Forster Memorial Park!
In April 2021, we were allocated £9.98 million from the Greater London Authority to support the development of 73 new homes under the 2021-26 Affordable Homes Programme. We plan to start building 186 new homes in our area by 2025.
We have also received planning approval for 30 affordable rent homes at Melfield Gardens for people over 55, with two four-bedroom flats for postgraduate students. The new homes will be built to highly sustainable ‘Passivhaus’ standards, meaning residents will notice benefits such as low energy bills and comfortable living environments all year round.
For more information about our development plans and current proposals, visit our website.
In September 2021, we completed the extension and modernisation of 26 Beckenham Hill Road, converting it from a family house to three new two and three bedroom flats.
Local residents will soon benefit from 45 new affordable homes in Catford at our Velo House development, named after the Catford Velodrome.
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