Lewisham Council has named The Hill Group as its long-term strategic partner to accelerate up to £1.5bn of  regeneration across the south-east London borough.

The 10-year partnership, which has the potential to be extended for a further five years, will be used to accelerate affordable housing, development projects and investment across Lewisham.

Hill was appointed following a year-long procurement process. Rather than appointing a different developer for every project, the council will work directly with Hill over the long term, to help bring forward projects “more quickly and consistently”, while retaining greater control over quality, affordability, sustainability and delivery timescales.

The first projects as part of the partnership are already underway. These are Thomas’ Lane Yard, Catford –  a development of 113 affordable homes and Achilles Street Estate Regeneration, New Cross, which will deliver 278 new homes.

Andy Hill, founder and chief executive of The Hill Group, said: “Long-term partnerships such as this create the certainty and alignment needed to unlock technically complex sites, enable more efficient delivery and ensure developments genuinely reflect the needs of local communities."