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• First new council homes built in Westminster for 30 years

First new council homes built in Westminster for 30 years

The first new council houses to be built in central London for almost 30 years were unveiled today (March 21) by Westminster Council.

The 10 new and four refurbished flats have been built utilising redundant ground-floor space located under four  tower blocks in Westbourne Green.

The properties mark a milestone in the council’s house building programme which will see hundreds of new affordable homes in Westminster by 2015 as part of council’s £93 million initiative to help meet surging demand for affordable housing and tackle overcrowding in the capital.

Three of the properties are already occupied and it is expected that other local families - currently in overcrowded homes or on the council’s priority housing waiting list - will be able to move into the new properties within a matter of weeks.

As one of the most densely built areas of the country, Westminster’s innovative approach means the council is able to build new homes on a series of brownfield and under-used sites on its existing estates - such as run down garages, sheds and vacant land.

Latest figures show Westminster has around 1,335 families classified as living in overcrowded conditions and 2,073 in temporary accommodation.
Philippa Roe, Westminster Council's cabinet member for housing, said the new houses were part of the biggest affordable housing programme by a local authority in the capital since the 1970s.

Councillor Roe said: "This is an historic and tremendously exciting moment in our housing programme and will demonstrate first-hand how our plans for new homes are set to make a real difference to hundreds of local families in desperate housing need.

"In an area like Westminster, one of the biggest single challenges was actually finding suitable sites in the first place as land is at such a premium. Only by utilising every nook and cranny, redundant scrap of tarmac or unused garage on our own land were we even able to contemplate going ahead with this.

“I'm sure many other local authorities will follow our lead as the pressures on funding new homes for London's increasing population grows."

The new homes will be run by CityWest Homes, which manages the council's stock of 22,000 homes, and is helping to deliver the project.

Mark Hoyland, CityWest Homes chief executive, said: "This is only the beginning of what we want to achieve from the community build programme. By creating good quality accommodation for larger families to enjoy we have transformed the under-used and often problematic undercroft areas. As part of the community build programme we will be building many more new homes to benefit our residents and communities."

The last estate to be built in Westminster was Odham’s Walk in Covent Garden in 1982. The very last council house to be built in Westminster was in 1985, as housing associations emerged as the biggest new providers of affordable homes.

Westminster Council has been awarded £5 million from the Homes and Community Agency to help fund its affordable housing programme.

The project is being delivered in partnership with the council’s housing charity Westminster Community Homes and CityWest Homes.

Mike Youkee, Chair of the charity Westminster Community Homes, said “We are delighted with the progress of this project so far. The completion of 14 new flats in the undercrofts marks the first new build properties that WCH has commissioned and completed. None of this would be possible without very close working with the council in all aspects of the development. In particular, Cllr Roe’s specific support for the work of WCH has been invaluable. The Homes and Communities Agency have assisted with the funding of these new properties and our thanks to them should be recorded.”