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London council to increase planned social rent homes to 1,362
Westminster City Council is planning to increase the number of homes for social rent by more than 13% in its affordable homes pipeline.
The local authority said it would deliver at least 1,362 council homes for social rent – an increase of 160 homes from the 1,202 already planned. The majority of the properties are to be delivered over the next four years.
According to the council, 84 homes previously planned for private sale on the Harrow Road and Westbourne Green regeneration schemes will now be council homes.
Westminster Council has also shifted from a 60/40 split in favour of intermediate rent housing in its developments to a 70/30 split in favour of social rent homes.
The new plans have also vowed to market homes at 300 Harrow Road (60 homes) and Westbourne Green (24 homes) as affordable tenures. A further 18 intermediate rent homes will be built across both schemes. These two schemes will provide a total of 102 social and intermediate rent homes.
Westminster Council, which has had a new Labour administration since May, said the increase in social rent homes would reduce the number of families relying on temporary accommodation and help tackle the waiting list of more than 4,000 households awaiting council housing.
The plans are part of the council’s Fairer Westminster strategy, which also includes regeneration projects at Ebury Bridge and Church Street, and will further increase the council’s affordable housing.
Matt Noble, cabinet member for climate action, regeneration and renters at Westminster Council, said the new administration wants to demonstrate its commitment to providing affordable homes.
He added: “The wait for a family-sized social rent home in Westminster, and across London as a whole, is massive and this new commitment to deliver truly affordable homes, which sees an emphasis on council housing for social rent in the heart of the city, is the first step in a longer pipeline of work to deliver high-quality family homes for our local people.”
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