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Charity run by current and former West Ham players to build 1,000 new homes

Legacy, the regeneration charity run by a coterie of current and former West Ham players, is to partner with Central Bedfordshire Council to deliver 1,000 new homes.

Former England captain Rio Ferdinand, current West Ham captain Mark Noble, and Brighton’s Bobby Zamora set up the regeneration company last year.

The charity is partnering with funding partner Aviva Investors and UK contractor McClaren Construction to deliver 1,000 homes along with a world-class sports academy, education and community facilities on a 22-acre site in Houghton Regis.

Work on the Kingsland site in Bedfordshire is due to start in early 2017 and will feature a mix of affordable, social, rented and privately owned new housing.

Legacy hopes to use the development as a model for regeneration projects that it hopes to roll out across the country.

Former England star and Chairman of Legacy, Rio Ferdinand said: “Kingsland is a great example of the developments Legacy wants to roll out to key locations across the UK.

“We aim to start on site in early 2017 and to be delivering the first of our high-quality homes to a new generation of homemakers in Houghton Regis within a year of that date.“

Cllr James Jamieson added:  “At Central Bedfordshire we’re all about transforming communities, enhancing life chances and making places the very best they can be, so we already have ambitious plans to regenerate Houghton Regis and the surrounding areas to meet the growing needs of our population.

“We are both proud and excited to be working with people who share these ambitions, my colleagues from Central Government, our partners in Aviva and, of course, the inspiring and passionate advocate of social change, Rio Ferdinand.”

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