Promising new council housing
MORE THAN 4,248 HOMES PLANNED FOR WEST LONDON BY MAYOR SADIQ KHAN
THE Mayor of London has pledged to build more than 4,000 council houses in west London.
The announcement came as part of a billion-pound promise by Sadiq Khan to build 11,000 new council houses across London.
In addition, he promised a further 3,570 other homes, including those for London Living Rent, a scheme targeted at middle-income Londoners to offer lower rents to help them save for a deposit.
The borough of Hillingdon has been allocated £11,678,000 and 347 new homes are planned.
Ealing will receive just under £100 million for the construction of 1,138 council homes, as a key part of the Labour mayor’s housing strategy and Hounslow will get £63,252,000 to create 741 homes.
The Hammersmith and Fulham borough has been granted £15,308,000 for the construction of 251 council homes.
Both Sadiq Khan, who himself grew up on a council estate, and
Labour leader Jeremy
Corbyn have made the construction of council houses a cornerstone of their manifestos in recent years.
The move is an attempt to counter the dramatic decline in housebuilding by London’s councils over the last decades.
Where is Sadiq Khan building council houses?
In west London alone, Sadiq Khan is building 4,248 council, social and affordable houses during the next four years with this pot of government funding for Hillingdon, Brent, Hammersmith and Fulham, Harrow, Hounslow and Kensington and Chelsea.
London Assembly Member for Hillingdon and Ealing, Onkar Sahota AM, said: “With too many local families priced out of the housing market and stuck in temporary accommodation, it has always been of the utmost priority that we get to grips with the housing crisis as a matter of urgency.
“The government have sat on their hands when it comes to council homebuilding, which fell flat during the 1990s.
“However, we now have an opportunity with this funding to kickstart an ambitious new building programme and provide the next generation of homes for social rent that our community desperately needs.”
What went wrong? - Right to Buy
London’s councils built just 2,100 homes during the last seven years – an average of just 300 homes per year, or roughly 10 council homes per London borough every year.
This is a stark contrast with the 1970s, where at its peak, London councils built 20,000 homes a year.
All the while, there are tens of thousands of Londoners on council housing waiting lists, says City Hall.
The new council homes will be built over the next four years at social rent levels, said Mr Khan.
The funding comes from a government social rent grant and is being distributed to 26 boroughs, which are also being encouraged to recycle money from Right to Buy to replace council homes sold off under the old policy.
“London’s housing crisis is hugely complex...”
However, despite the announcement, the mayor says that to build all the council, social and affordable housing needed in London, a further £2.7 billion is required every year.
The mayor said: “There is no simple fix – but council housing is the most important part of the solution. Londoners need more council homes they can genuinely afford.
“The scale of what I have announced today shows the ambition is there in London to build a new generation of council homes.
“Ministers now urgently need to step up and go the distance too.”
Londoners need more council homes they can genuinely afford Sadiq Khan, Mayor of London