‘A new start’ – local families move into latest new Council housing
One of the first residents to move into new Hackney Council homes in Victoria says a weight has been lifted from her shoulders by a move into genuinely affordable new housing.
Margaret Bibby and her one year-old son Prince were among families moving into 15 new genuinely affordable Council homes for social rent at King Edward’s Road, transforming land previously owned by a housing association that had been derelict for nearly 20 years.
Ms Bibby, who lived in Dalston for eight years before difficult family circumstances required her and her son to move, said: “It’s a great move and a new start for me – it’s like a weight has been taken off my shoulders.
“A roof over your head is the most important thing and everyone here is so excited. I hope they are as happy as I am!”
Among their new neighbours Katia Alloache and her family, who have transferred from a severely overcrowded flat in De Beauvoir, where they had lived since 2006, to a new five-bedroom family Council home.
18-year-old son Yassine said: “It’s been a big change, but this home is so much better for the family and there is a lot more space. We’ve met our neighbours here and everyone is really happy.”
Philip Glanville, Mayor of Hackney, visited these families moving in to personally welcome them to their new homes.
I’m proud Hackney is building council housing, but it was truly humbling to hear first-hand how these new modern homes we are developing are transforming the lives of families who have been in desperate need for a genuinely affordable place to call home.
Completing these spacious, family-sized properties is just the latest step in our mission to build thousands more across the borough over the next few years, providing a permanent home to some of the 13,000 people on our waiting list.
Because we’re building ourselves, we can guarantee that local people like Ms Bibby and her son will get first dibs on new homes and they won’t be sold to buy-to-let investors or subject to the whims of a developer’s viability test.
Through its model of funding and building homes itself, rather than selling land to developers, Hackney Council will build nearly 2,000 new homes, three schools and a new leisure centre by 2022 – with over half of the new housing for social rent and shared ownership.
Homes at King Edward’s Road have been designed to fit in with the surrounding Victorian architecture, with townhouses and a landmark building built around a new communal courtyard, as well as improved public spaces, swift boxes and walking routes around the site.
The development, at the junction with Tyron Crescent, also includes 17 homes for outright sale to help pay for the new Council housing in the absence of any government funding.
Find out more on the Hackney is Building pages and the dedicated King Edward's Road project page.