Nearly 30 genuinely affordable new Council homes to replace a disused boiler house were given the green light yesterday as Council plans to transform eyesores across Hackney with hundreds of new Council homes gather momentum.

The 26 high quality new Council homes – half for social rent and half for shared ownership – will be built on Pedro Street in Clapton after gaining unanimous approval from the Council’s Planning Sub-Committee.

The plans include a mix of family and smaller homes to meet the local need in the area, as well as an improved public space linking the homes to Gilpin Square.

This is the latest milestone in the Council’s Housing Supply Programme, which is transforming underused land across the borough, after new Council homes to replace vacant garages in Clapton and former Council offices in Haggerston were also approved last month.

Overall more than 400 new Council homes will be built at 14 locations on land such as empty car parks and unused depots, with 70% for social rent and shared ownership, paid for through outright sale of the remaining homes in the absence of any government funding for social rented housing.

The new Council homes will be prioritised for local people, with social rent properties allocated to families from the Council’s 13,000 strong housing waiting list. The shared ownership homes will offer a more affordable route into home ownership for people living and working in Hackney, including the thousands of private renters struggling to afford a deposit for a first home.

Construction is expected to begin later this year, with the homes due to be completed in early 2020.