IN Brief:
- Zen Housing has acquired 71 affordable homes within Vistry’s 141-home Oakridge Grange development.
- The package comprises 47 shared-ownership homes and 24 properties for affordable rent.
- Construction is under way, with first handovers to Zen Housing expected in December 2026.
Vistry has exchanged contracts with Zen Housing for 71 affordable homes at Oakridge Grange in Tenterden, Kent, placing more than half of the 141-home development into affordable tenures.
Zen Housing has acquired 47 shared-ownership properties and 24 homes for affordable rent. Construction is already under way, with the first handovers to the housing provider expected in December 2026.
The wider development is being built on Appledore Road within walking distance of Tenterden town centre. Private homes are being delivered under Vistry’s Bovis Homes brand, with new three and four-bedroom show homes scheduled to launch at the end of September.
Oakridge Grange also includes new play areas, five football pitches, a sports pavilion and a large country park containing wildflower meadows, community orchards and ponds. Those elements make delivery broader than the construction of individual housing plots, with roads, utilities, drainage, landscaping and recreational facilities progressing alongside the homes.
The agreement gives Zen a substantial presence within the development. Seventy-one homes represent slightly more than half of the total scheme, creating a tenure mix in which affordable housing is integrated through a wider development rather than restricted to a small allocation at its edge.
That has practical implications during construction. Vistry must coordinate completions for Zen alongside private-sale plots while maintaining access and shared infrastructure across a live development. Individual homes can be handed over only when utilities, roads and other relevant estate works have reached the stage required for safe occupation.
The December target for the first Zen properties therefore marks the beginning of a phased transfer rather than completion of the entire 71-home package. Housing developments of this scale normally move through sequential plot completions as trades, inspections and external works progress across the site.
Each handover also carries a defined quality and information requirement. A registered provider needs warranties, compliance documentation, asset information and completed building services before taking responsibility for occupied homes, while defects and outstanding external works have to be managed around residents once the first properties transfer.
The two affordable tenures introduce different operating arrangements after completion. Shared-ownership residents acquire an equity stake while Zen retains an interest in the property, whereas affordable-rent homes remain under a rental management model. Construction quality and handover requirements, however, must remain consistent across both parts of the package.
For Vistry, the transaction reflects its partnership-led development model, in which private-sale housing is combined with homes delivered for registered providers and institutional partners. Forward agreements can give a developer a committed purchaser for a defined portion of a scheme while allowing work to proceed across a mixed-tenure programme.
Zen Housing has already been working with Vistry at national scale. Earlier in 2026 the organisations announced agreements covering hundreds of affordable homes across multiple developments, with Zen backed by long-term institutional investment. The Oakridge Grange contract brings that partnership into a specific Kent scheme already under construction.
For construction teams, mixed-tenure projects can reduce exposure to a single sales channel but place greater emphasis on programme coordination. Different purchasers may have different inspection, information and handover requirements, while external works have to serve all tenures as one functioning neighbourhood.
The sports and landscape elements at Oakridge Grange add another long-term consideration. Country park areas, playing pitches, community orchards and ponds require clear ownership and maintenance arrangements once construction is complete, particularly where the completed development contains several tenure types.
Those shared spaces also have to be integrated into the construction programme rather than treated as cosmetic work after the housing has finished. Drainage and landscape features can be tied to planning conditions or infrastructure performance, while safe routes through the development become increasingly important as residents occupy early phases.
The first handovers scheduled for December will establish the initial interface between Zen’s occupied homes and Vistry’s continuing construction operation. As more affordable and private homes complete, haul roads, temporary access and work compounds will progressively give way to permanent residential streets.
The immediate commercial milestone is the exchange of contracts for the 71 homes. The more significant delivery measure will be whether Vistry can maintain a consistent build and handover sequence across the affordable and private elements while bringing the wider sports, landscape and infrastructure programme forward around them.
