The Mayor of London’s Building Homes for Londoners scheme has made its biggest pay out to date. The GLA has just announced an agreement with Newham Council to release £107 million of funding for new genuinely affordable homes.
Residents of Newham are in urgent need of housing with over 5,000 families currently living in temporary accommodation and 28,000 households on the waiting list.
The funding from the Mayor of London Sadiq Khan, means that Newham Mayor Fiaz can start to to build a minimum of 1,000 council homes by 2022 and in the region of 100 in her inaugural year as part of her manifesto. Currently Mayor Fiaz is ahead of her ambitious target with plans already in place to build 227 new properties starting this year funded under the Building Homes for Londoners Scheme.
Florence Road in Upton Park – award nominated social housing
Mayor Khan along with Mayor of Newham Rokhsana Fiaz made a special visit to the innovative development in Florence Road in Upton Park. Completed in 2016 the former nursery building has been transformed into seven social rented three bedroom properties. Seven families on the council waiting list were able to move into the development, which was financed through Right to Buy receipts, borrowing and contributions from section 106.
Design conscious
Shortlisted for a prestigious housing design award, Florence Road is leading the way in exemplary urban design. Bell Phillips the architects created a central light well and a roof terrace into each three storey building.
Funding has positive impact on community
Mayor Fiaz said: “It was great to welcome the Mayor of London to Newham and show him the human impact this funding will have on the lives of so many families here. Having access to genuinely affordable quality housing has made a drastic difference to the lives of these families. It is not just a roof over their head – it is about providing stability so families can put down proper roots and turn bricks and mortar into homes.
“With the housing crisis in London and Newham in particular, this is no time for complacency. We need to explore every possible avenue available to us to ensure we are maximising the number of genuinely affordable homes it is possible for us to deliver. Sadiq has recognised our ambition and rewarded us with the highest grant in London so now it is essential that we deliver these homes at pace.”
The Mayor of London Sadiq Khan said: “Having grown up on a council estate, I know first-hand the vital role council housing plays in London and I want to see councils building far more homes like those on Florence Road.“
