In a statement on Brent Council's website today the Council announces that the July 28th Cabinet will pause the social housing programme:
Issue Details: New Council Homes Programme Update
To agree to pause delivery of social rent schemes due to the financial viability of these projects. In addition, to delegate authority to the Corporate Director Neighbourhoods and Regeneration, in consultation with the Cabinet Member for Regeneration, Planning and Property, to enter into a Deed of Variation for the GLA Affordable Housing Programme 2021,26 and agree pre-tender considerations and subsequent contract award for construction contracts relating to the delivery of the Edgware Road Scheme.
The announcement anticipates that information will be restricted as
'relating to the financial or business affairs of any particular person (including the authority holding that information)'
The announcement is of particular significance for South Kilburn where the council has been seeking a single developer to complete the regeneration. Doubts have been raised whether any would take on the risk in the present climate without changing the expected tenure to include a larger proportion of private housing to make the project financially viable.
Today at Cabinet, Cllr Grahl, told her colleagues that Cllr Kelcher, Chair of Brent Planning Committee, would be pressing for 50% of the proposed 1,000 homes on the Bridge Park -Unisys regeneration site to be affordable.
The slippery concept of 'affordable' has been much discussed on Wembley Matters (See: Call for Brent Council to deliver more council homes for social tenants and end confusion over their use of the term 'affordable')
Given the current housing crisis and doubts over shared ownership, leasehold problems and housing associations moving into the private market, the need is clearly for council homes.
Will the Labour Government grasp the nettle with one of its own councils declaring the suspension of its social homes programme?
The Quarter 4 Borough Plan Dashboard shows just 26 new council homes completed:
11 comments:
So another Labour promise broken!
We have a Labour Government, Labour MPs, Labour Mayor of London and a Labour run Council.
What is the point of voting Labour in Brent?
Will Councillor Butt take responsibility for the this massive failure and resign?
Hi Martin - can you please put a link to the statement on here ? I can't find it on the Brent webpage. Thanks
The Council has had a 50% affordable target for a very long time. For most off us 'affordable' meant Council level rents and not the 'fudge' imposed by the Labour Mayor and others.
Local people have been badly let down by the Brent Planning Committee for years as for most of the time they failed to enforce the Council's own policies.
Opportunities were missed and developers have been let off the hook for years by this Labour Administration who made promises and boasts while failing to deliver year after year as so clearly exposed by contributions to Wembley Matters by Philip Grant.
Are these 1000 homes part of khan’s 40,000 homes costing £100,000 each.
See: https://democracy.brent.gov.uk/mgIssueHistoryHome.aspx?IId=78316&PlanId=628&RPID=246443318
There is a conflict between affordable housing and housing standards, if we pretend there isn't we are just fooling ourselves.
The London Plan requirements given 37sqm for a studio and 50sqm for a 1 bedroom. Many existing flats are smaller than this but new planning approvals are strict on this. It just serves gentrification and hollowing out of communities which is opposite of what we want. Look what happened to Stonebridge.
The officers, at the behest of their paymasters make any excuse they can think of to allow developers to make massive profits and provide minimal affordable properties.
And it has always been so obvious that this would happen. Next will be voids in the expensive rentals, substantial falls in student numbers and a drop in local property values, and we all get poorer as a result. Of course the practice of turning Metroland homes into Airbnb will continue
Simple answer to anon at 13.24's last question : NO!
Grant of £100,000? Can’t build even a third of a flat / house for that in London…no wonder social housing delivery dried up.
Local residents need to take some responsibility for this mess - most have continued to vote Labour in local elections because "that's what they and their families have always done" rather than looking at what's happening locally and challenging the poor record of Labour Councillors, particularly in holding the Brent Council Leader and Tower Block Tatler to account. The huge Labour majority on Brent Council has allowed the Labour Councillors to make poor decisions because they believe they will never get voted out.
It is always best to have a mix of politcal parties running your local council so that you get better decisions and better scrutiny.
In the next local elections vote for anyone except Labour!
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