Referral of the proposed subsidy to Berkeley Homes (East Thames) Limited by Homes England
Source: gov.uk (2025-02-05)

The Subsidy Advice Unit (SAU) has published a report providing advice to Homes England concerning its proposed subsidy to Berkeley Homes (East Thames) Limited (Berkeley Homes).

Administrative timetable

Final report

5 February 2025: The SAU has published its report providing advice to Homes England concerning the proposed subsidy to Berkeley Homes. The report sets out the SAU’s evaluation of Homes England’s Assessment of Compliance of its proposed subsidy with the requirements set out in the Subsidy Control Act 2022.
- Final report (https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/report-on-the-proposed-subsidy-to-berkeley-homes-east-thames-limited-by-homes-england) (5.2.25)
Request from Homes England

20 December 2024: The SAU has accepted a request for a report from Homes England concerning the proposed subsidy to Berkeley Homes. This request relates to a Subsidy of Particular Interest.

The SAU will prepare a report, which will provide an evaluation of the Homes England’s assessment of whether the subsidy complies with the subsidy control requirements (Assessment of Compliance). The SAU will complete its report within 30 working days.

Information about the subsidy provided by Homes England

Homes England is providing £29.4m of London Brownfield Infrastructure and Land (BIL) grant funding to Berkeley Homes (East Thames) Limited. Funding will be available from March 2025 to March 2026.

Lombard Square is a residential-led, mixed use development being developed by Berkeley Homes on a 17.7 acre, ex-industrial, brownfield site in Plumstead within the Royal Borough of Greenwich in London that is intended to deliver 1,913 homes of which 765 (40%) are affordable along with 46,241 sq ft of commercial space. Phase 1 comprises 875 homes (60% affordable) which are under construction and Phase 2, comprising 1,038 homes (23% affordable) and 30,843 sq ft of commercial space, which is on hold and which is the subject of the proposed grant funding.

The Homes England London BIL infrastructure grant funding will be used for site remediation, the provision of public realm and landscaping, upgrading utilities, contributions to transport improvements, and the delivery of low carbon energy infrastructure.

Homes England considers that the subsidy in this case is necessary to resolve market failures and unlock a policy objective to regenerate brownfield land and increase housing supply in the area. The proposed subsidy exceeds £10 million and therefore qualifies as a ‘Subsidy of Particular Interest’ (SoPI) under the UK Subsidy Control Regime.

Information for third parties

If you wish to comment on matters relevant to the SAU’s evaluation of the Assessment of Compliance concerning the proposed subsidy to Berkeley Homes please send your comments before 5pm on the date stipulated in the timetable above. For guidance on representations relevant to the Assessment of Compliance, see the section on reporting period and transparency in the Operation of the subsidy control functions of the Subsidy Advice Unit (https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/guidance-on-the-operation-of-the-subsidy-control-functions-of-the-subsidy-advice-unit/operation-of-the-subsidy-control-functions-of-the-subsidy-advice-unit).

Please send your submissions to the public authority: xxx@xxx.xx (mailto:xxx@xxx.xx).

Please also provide a contact address and explain in what capacity you are making the submission (for example, as an individual or a representative of a business or organisation).

Notes to third parties wishing to make a submission

The SAU will only take your submission into account if it can be shared with Homes England. The SAU will send a copy of your submission to Homes England together with its report. This is to allow the public authority to take account of the submission in its decision as to whether to grant or modify the subsidy or its assessment. We therefore ask that you provide express consent for your full and unredacted submission to be shared. We also encourage you to share your submission directly with Homes England using the email address provided above.

The SAU may use the information you provide in its published report. Therefore, you should indicate in your submission whether any specified parts of it are commercially confidential. If the SAU wishes to refer in its published report to material identified as confidential, it will contact you in advance.

For further details on confidentiality of third party submissions, see identifying confidential information in the Operation of the subsidy control functions of the Subsidy Advice Unit (https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/guidance-on-the-operation-of-the-subsidy-control-functions-of-the-subsidy-advice-unit/operation-of-the-subsidy-control-functions-of-the-subsidy-advice-unit).

Contact
- CMA press team: xx-xxxx-xxxx or xxx@xxx.xx (mailto:xxx@xxx.xx)