Haringey Council ends £4b JV with Lendlease

Haringey Council, north London, have voted to halt a £4 billion ($5.23 billion) joint venture, known as the Haringey Development Vehicle (HDV), with Australian property developer Lendlease.

The newly elected council explained the reason behind the decision was HDV did not provide the answer to the “challenges faced by the council.”

The council added the decision was “neither a reflection on the quality of [Lendlease’s] work nor of their desirability as a partner.”

The joint venture was to build 6,400 homes over 20 years and redeveloped the Northumberland Park and Broadwater Farm estates, with land owned by the local authority being transferred into the venture.

The deal between Lendlease and the council had faced strong opposition since it was announced in July 2017, according to local media outlets. Haringey’s new political leadership did not agree with a series of the council’s wholly-owned assets being transferred into the partnership, and it also raised major concerns with the level of risk the project faced.