From car park to Council homes – new Hoxton social housing approved
An empty car park on a Hoxton estate is set to make way for dozens of genuinely affordable new homes for local people after the latest milestone in the Council’s ambitious social housing plans was given the go ahead.
The 73 new homes – more than half for social rent and shared ownership – will replace a concrete car park and underused land with three new buildings on the Fairbank Estate in proposals agreed by the Council’s planning sub-committee last night (21 January).
Council tenants already living at Fairbank and nearby whose current homes don’t meet their needs will get first priority for the 28 social rent homes, following almost two years of close engagement between the Council, the local community and Lynch Architects to develop the plans.
A further 9 shared ownership homes will be prioritised for local families living or working in Hackney and unable to get on the housing ladder. Alongside the remaining outright sale homes which will help pay for the development in the absence of government funding, these will be marketed directly by the Council though its in-house sales team, Hackney Sales.
The approved plans also include a major investment to transform shared spaces on the estate to benefit both new and existing residents, including filling in the sunken area around Thaxted Court tower block to provide new planting, landscaping and play facilities.
The coronavirus crisis has shown just how important a safe, secure and genuinely affordable home is, and as we work to rebuild a better Hackney out of the pandemic I’m proud that Hackney is building the new generation of social housing that our borough desperately needs.
The community and the Council have continued working together to develop these plans at the height of the pandemic, and it’s only fair that those who already live here are the first to benefit – whether it’s by being in the front of the queue for a new home if their current home doesn’t meet their needs, or the wider transformation of the estate that will create a better place to live for everyone.
The approved plans are part of hundreds of new homes that Hackney Council is building on Council land through its ambitious, not-for-profit, direct delivery housebuilding programme – with more than half for social rent, shared ownership or living rent, paid for in the absence of government funding by selling some homes outright.