Ealing agrees £390m housebuilding programme

Ealing Council has given the green light to a £390m business plan for it housing development company, Broadway Living.

The plan will see Broadway Living’s subsidiary, BLRP build 1,513 homes, with the sale and let of some of the homes subsidising the development of more homes for affordable let.

The scheme is projected to pay for itself over the course of 50 years by recouping the initial investment through sales and rents.

The business plan will also help the council meet its ambitious target of delivering 2,500 new genuinely affordable homes in the borough by April 2022, all of which will be let at rents priced to suit the budgets of local people on low to moderate incomes.

The remainder of the 2,500 homes target will be met through the council’s planning system at private and housing association developments in the London borough.

According to the council, there are currently more than 10,000 households on the council’s housing register, but last year only around 500 council homes became available to rent to new tenants, while the borough also loses around 100 socially rented homes each year through Right to Buy sales.

‘One of this administration’s key pledges is to deliver more of the good quality, genuinely affordable homes the borough so desperately needs,’ said the council’s portfolio holder-designate for housing, planning and transformation, Cllr Mik Sabiers.

‘Although we have made extraordinary progress in the last few years, with almost 1,500 new genuinely affordable homes delivered since April 2018, we know this is just the start. Thousands of residents are struggling to afford to live in the neighbourhoods that they grew up in, so it is essential that we continue building new homes in the long term.

‘This plan, which will ultimately pay for itself, will create a supply of sustainable, high-quality, energy-efficient, affordable homes for Ealing for decades to come. One serious concern which has been drawn into sharp focus by the coronavirus pandemic is the impact that poor housing has on health. These new homes will make a real difference to the quality of life of the people who live in them.’

‘Through Broadway Living, the council is shareholder, landowner and funder for houses built under this plan. This means that public money stays public rather than ending up as profits for private companies. And by creating hundreds of jobs, the plan will provide a real boost for the local economy. It is a hugely positive step towards creating a better borough for everyone,’ added Cllr Sabiers.

Photo Credit – Borevina (Pixabay)