Morgan Sindall celebrates topping out milestone at £19m hostels for homeless families in Camden
Morgan Sindall Construction has marked a significant milestone in the delivery of new hostels on Camden Road and Chester Road with a topping out ceremony, celebrating continued progress on site. The project will provide high-quality temporary accommodation for people within the borough and is on track for completion in summer 2026.
To commemorate the project’s topping out, Councillor Nasrine Djemai, Councillor Sagal Abdi-Wali, representatives from Morgan Sindall, PAGABO, and local ward Councillors gathered at the Chester Road site on 06 February 2026 to listen to speeches from Richard Olszewski, Leader of Camden Borough Council, and Richard Dobson, Area Director of London at Morgan Sindall Construction in London. Attendees also visited the roof to install the last of the sustainable green roof on the building to truly mark this transformative milestone.
Procured through the PAGABO framework, Camden Council appointed Morgan Sindall as the main contractor to deliver to the project. The hostels will support individuals and families who do not have a home and need a safe, good quality, and secure place to live. This could be a result of a sudden eviction, life event, or those escaping domestic violence.
In London, there are currently 75,000 people living in temporary accommodation, more than the rest of the country combined. And with 70% of these temporary accommodation households living in costly, nightly paid accommodation, Camden Council hopes that the Camden Hostels development will relieve this expense on households while easing the demand on local bed and breakfasts.
Once complete, the development will include two hostels, consisting of 39 units on Camden Road and 50 units on Chester Road. Both hostels will include a mixture of single and double beds, and each unit will be fitted with its own bathroom.
The wider sites have been designed to accommodate a community room, staff room, and outside gardens with benches and play areas for children, creating a neighbourhood feel and helping residents feel at home and in a welcoming environment while they wait for more permanent housing.
Morgan Sindall has committed to delivering a full employment and skills plan throughout the works, drawing on its extensive experience in creating social value. To date, the team has onboarded five apprentices on the Camden Road project and 11 apprentices on Chester Road, alongside eight work experience placements across both sites. These opportunities are providing the next generation of construction professionals with valuable, hands-on experience on live construction projects.
Supporting the local economy has also been a key priority, with 25 local tradespeople employed on the project across both sites.
In addition, Morgan Sindall has actively engaged the local community throughout the construction, delivering a range of initiatives including Construction Insights sessions with DWP members, participation in Green Skills and Construction Career Day events, and attendance at multiple careers fairs.
In line with Morgan Sindall’s commitment to sustainability, all waste generated on site is being diverted from landfill as part of a comprehensive waste management strategy. The project also incorporates a range of sustainable MEP solutions, including photovoltaic panels, air source heat pumps, and Q-ton condensers. All apartments have been designed to be dual-aspect, enhancing energy efficiency and occupant comfort. In addition, Metframe structural framing systems are being used as a low-carbon alternative to traditional concrete frames.
Morgan Sindall has also implemented its 10 Tonne Challenge on the project, working closely with consultants and supply chain partners to identify innovative construction solutions that collectively remove at least 10 tonnes of carbon from the build process. To date, the team has exceeded this target, achieving a carbon saving of 100 tonnes through the rationalisation of the piling design alone.
Richard Dobson, Area Director of Morgan Sindall Construction in London, said:
Reaching this topping out milestone is an important moment for everyone involved in the delivery of the Camden Road and Chester Road hostels. These facilities will provide safe, secure, and high-quality accommodation for individuals and families at a time when demand for temporary housing in London is at a critical level, and we are proud to be a part of that.
It’s been a pleasure to work in partnership with Camden Council to deliver this project. A project that meets the need for urgent housing while also creating welcoming, community-focused spaces where residents can feel supported.
The whole team is looking forward to completing both projects this summer, so individuals and families in the community can begin to benefit from these much-needed facilities.”
Councillor Nasrine Djemai, Cabinet Member for New Homes and Community Investment, said:
Our Community Investment programme is helping to tackle the housing crisis head-on, not just by building high-quality family homes, but by providing better quality temporary accommodation, like the Camden Road and Chester Road hostels, to support people who don’t have a secure place to call home.”
This new temporary accommodation will be energy efficient, safe, secure and be built to the highest quality. Alongside this we want to ensure this development benefits local communities and as part of the works, contractors are providing apprenticeships, work experience placements and ring-fenced jobs for local people.”
Councillor Sagal Abdi-Wali, Cabinet Member for Better Homes, said:
We must build more temporary accommodation to help support those in desperate need of a safe place to stay until a more longer-term solution is allocated. This is a great milestone to reach - by investing in two high-quality hostels, we can also reduce how much we spend each year on hotel and out-of-borough temporary accommodation, reallocating that money into our services and building more high-quality council homes for local people and families.”
ENDS