Y:Cube Housing Prototype Gets Go-Ahead
Innovative Y:Cube gets planning permission
The YMCA's Y:Cube housing scheme will be built in Mitcham after planning permission was granted.
The Y:Cube unit only costs £30,000 to build, and 36 of them will now be built in Clay Avenue.
The scheme (above) is aimed single people who include former residents of the YMCA in The Broadway, Wimbledon.
The one-bedroom homes will be let at 65 per cent of the market rent, which currently in Merton is £140 a week.
Each identical one-bedroom flat contains a living space that includes a galley kitchen, separate double bedroom and an en-suite toilet and shower. Each unit will have a net space of 26sqm.
The plan is for 50% of residents coming from the YMCA in Wimbledon, and Merton Council having nomination rights for the other 50%. All tenants will have to be meaningfully engaged in employment, training, education or volunteering.
Andy Redfearn, Director of Development at YMCA London South West, is pleased Merton Council has given planning permission for the first UK Y:Cube Housing scheme. He said: "The lack of good quality affordable housing is the number one issue for London and we believe Y:Cube Housing presents a new credible solution with a vision of a scheme in every London borough and beyond".
"As a housing charity, we are increasingly finding it more and more difficult to find viable move on solutions for residents who have lived in supported lodgings and who are now ready to move on to independent living".
"With Y:Cube Housing, we are giving people who are unable to afford a place of their own a place to stay for 3-5 years whilst working, training or in education and saving up funds which can help them get on the housing ladder later".
Ivan Harbour, Partner at Rogers Stirk Harbour + Partners, said: "The Y:Cube delivers generous space, exceptional insulation, daylight and acoustics. We believe it holds many answers for well-designed and sustainable urban living and this approach of delivering fully kitted-out units could change the way we think about our housing into the future".
Shantae Whyte, a resident living in the hostel in YMCA Wimbledon, was homeless before she came to the YMCA. She stayed in the Y:Cube Prototype for one week in the spring of 2014.
She said: "Staying in the Y:Cube prototype was a great experience. The Y:Cube has everything you can ask for. At night you could hardly hear the traffic outside, even if the prototype was situated on a car park next to the main road. The Y:Cube always held the right temperature for me and I loved resting my feet on the underfloor heating pads. Every time I walked in, I was reminded about the homely feel of it".
August 28, 2014
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