Mayor of Newham Rokhsana Fiaz has welcomed an announcement by the Mayor of London of a scheme to help get 10,000 new council homes under way over the next four years.
The Building Council Homes for Londoners programme will see strategic partnerships formed between Mayor Sadiq Khan and councils using money from a £1.67 billion pot secured from the Government.
Mayor Fiaz said: “Tens of thousands of Newham families are in desperate need of affordable, quality homes. I share the Mayor of London’s commitment to kick-start major council house-building in the capital as the only way we can realistically tackle the housing crisis. As the new Mayor of Newham, I have pledged to build at least 1,000 new council homes at social rent levels in the next four years.”
Newham is one of the first councils to support the scheme, which also proposes a way for councils keep the money collected from properties sold under Right to Buy and spend it on providing social housing.
Mayor Fiaz added: “This proposal to allow councils like Newham rather than central government to keep the money collected from Right to Buy and spend it on social housing is an extremely helpful first step. It allows us to try and address the problems the failed Right to Buy policy creates in reducing affordable social housing. I look forward to working closely with the Mayor of London to deliver more quality, social homes for Newham residents.”
In Newham alone, 9,707 social homes have been lost via Right to Buy since 1982. In Newham, 26,000 households are currently on the housing register.