21 June 2023
Summary:As part of the regeneration of Clapham Park, new MTVH social homes have been named after one of our founders and housing pioneer, Keith Shaw.
To coincide with this years ‘Windrush 75’ celebrations, which recognises the achievements of the Windrush generation and their descendants, MTVH is delighted to announce that the first residents are due to move into Keith Shaw House on the Clapham Park regeneration scheme over the summer. This new social housing was named after Keith Shaw who arrived in South London from the Caribbean in the 1950s and spearheaded quality, affordable housing for the community.
He helped establish the housing association which would become MTVH and was one of its longest-standing residents. Keith Shaw House will include 50 affordable homes and is set for handover in July with the first residents moving in during August. It is part of the massive Clapham Park regeneration scheme, which MTVH has been delivering since 2008. Residents of Keith Shaw House will be existing Clapham Park tenants, providing a significant upgrade in accommodation and quality of life.
Keith Shaw arrived in the UK in the 1950s to join his mother who had settled in Brixton. He helped Molly Huggins, wife of the Governor of Jamaica, who was troubled by the poor state of housing for the country’s new arrivals, to establish the Metropolitan Coloured People’s Housing Association – later to become Metropolitan (a forerunner of MTVH) – to provide quality, affordable accommodation for London’s Caribbean community. Keith was a resident of the housing association for more than 50 years until his death in 2018. It was decided to name the Clapham Park building after Keith Shaw following a call for local people to submit names of residents with local significance.
On completion Clapham Park, which spans 36 hectares and is nestled between three local centres, Clapham, Brixton, and Streatham Hill, will have a total of over 4,000 homes, plus new community spaces and green areas for the benefit of the entire community. Keith Shaw was a real pillar of the local community and an important figure in the history of MTVH. As we mark the huge contribution that Keith and the entire Windrush generation have made to our society, MTVH is delighted the first residents will be moving into this new building over the summer, providing new, affordable social homes for the community of south London.