A new council development in Northolt has now opened, with the 27 homes at Newcastle Court including five four-bedroom houses and a block of eight flats. All 13 homes will be let by the council.
A further four-storey block of 14 flats includes 10 one, two and three-bed flats available for shared ownership and four three-bed flats for private sale – proceeds from which will be used to offset the cost of the homes that the council will let. All 14 flats in that block have already been sold.
The outdoor space around the homes has been landscaped, with older trees retained to provide shade for a children’s play area. There is also a dedicated parking area for Newcastle Court residents.
The development, which sits on the junction of Dabbs Hill Lane and Eastcote Lane, will contribute towards the council’s ambitious target of creating at least 2,500 genuinely affordable homes around Ealing borough by April 2022. All will be available as social lets to council and housing association tenants.
Work to build 1,185 new homes for social let, whether by the council or by housing associations, has now been either started or completed. The council is expected to hit 50% (1,250) of its genuinely affordable homes target in March.
Ealing is both directly building more council homes for let, and creating more affordable homes in total, than any other London borough. The ramping up of its direct building programme means it will directly develop more new homes for social rent in the four-year period to April 2022 than it did in the rest of this century combined.
The remainder of the 2,500 homes will be delivered through the council’s planning system – which will ensure that a percentage of private developments are genuinely affordable.
Councillor Peter Mason, the council’s lead member for housing, planning and transformation, said: “These new homes have taken us almost half way towards our target of creating 2,500 genuinely affordable homes by 2022, which is by far the most ambitious council homebuilding programme in London.
“In a city which is increasingly unequal and expensive, our top priority has to be delivering high-quality homes which local people can afford. Just 10% of private rentals in our borough are now affordable for people on low to moderate incomes. The properties we let to our tenants are typically a quarter of the price you would expect to pay for a private rental.
“With over 9,000 local people waiting for a council home, this is just the start. Over the coming years, we must continue building homes the borough so desperately needs.”
