Hackney,
19
July
2016
|
13:20
Europe/London

Hundreds of new homes in Council building programme

An innovative programme to build hundreds of new homes on underused Council land to help tackle London’s housing crisis has been launched by Hackney Council.

The project will see areas like Council depots and largely empty garages on Council estates across the borough transformed into around 400 modern, high-quality homes – with 70% for social rent and shared ownership.

Under the Housing Supply Programme, the 11 sites set for redevelopment won’t see any existing homes demolished or loss of green space or playgrounds – with the focus on making the most of underused areas on estates.

Local residents on these estates will also get the first option to move into the new homes through a dedicated local lettings policy, while the programme will aim to recruit Hackney residents for a quarter of construction jobs – including through apprenticeships.

Cllr Philip Glanville, Deputy Mayor
We’re determined to do all we can to build the homes that Hackney needs and help more families find a genuinely affordable place to live.

We’re already building thousands of new homes across our borough, including Council housing, but we know we can do even more to help meet demand by making the most of underused Council land for small developments that can make a big difference.

And crucially, we’ll ensure local people are first in the queue for these new council homes and the jobs that come with them.

We don’t get any government funding to build new homes, but we’ll continue to use innovative approaches like this to fund new developments ourselves.

I want to be clear that Hackney is committed to Council housing now and in the future.
Cllr Philip Glanville, Deputy Mayor

The Council is writing to residents near any proposed development to outline plans, with work set to start next year subject to planning permission. Any affected registered car parking spaces will be re-provided as close to the new developments as possible. Licensed garage users who could be affected will be contacted individually to discuss alternative locations for storage.

The ambitious programme will run hand-in-hand with the Council’s existing estate regeneration work to replace low-density council properties that are uneconomical to repair with nearly 3,000 new spacious homes for social rent and shared ownership, along with some for outright sale to help pay for them in the absence of Government funding.