The Mayor of Newham, Rokhsana Fiaz, has that said good quality homes are a right as she attended the start of construction on the Council’s latest housing projects for local families.
“Everyone has a right to live in good quality home and my heart goes out to local families, whom I hear from every day, living in overcrowded and sub-standard housing which we are tackling through investing millions in upgrading council stock and building genuinely affordable homes in Newham.
“As Mayor, my mission is to champion people’s needs and that’s why, among my top priorities, is making sure Newham Council does all that it can to provide local people with the homes they deserve and can afford. I’m really proud that we have started work on yet more housing projects across Newham that will help deliver the high quality homes our people deserve.
“I’m determined to lead a local recovery out of Covid-19 that makes Newham a better place for people by providing homes and investing to create jobs that pay a decent wage. I’m delighted that we’ll be pushing ahead with more home projects in the next few weeks. It’s also great to see the beautifully designed Together We Create hoardings at both sites, celebrating the people of Newham and the community I grew up in.”
Mayor Fiaz was speaking as she marked another milestone in her ambitious council house building programme by performing the ground breaking at two sites where 23 homes will be built: Idmiston Road in Forest Gate, where eight homes are due for completion by February 2022; and at Malmesbury Terrace in Canning Town, where 15 homes are due to be built by June 2022.
Mayor Fiaz has set a target of 1,000 starts by March 2022 through the Affordable Homes for Newham programme which will build of thousands of high quality, energy efficient homes at genuinely affordable levels for local residents.
The sites of the new homes were previously occupied by under used garages. The homes will be built to ambitious sustainability standards, with a reduced carbon footprint during both the construction process and when occupied – resulting in lower fuel bills for residents. Both developments will be car free, in line with planning policy, but there will be disabled parking spaces at Malmesbury.
East London-based contractors Rooff will operate a fully Covid-compliant operation at both sites throughout under the Construction Leadership Council guidelines. These are regularly reviewed to ensure they are maintaining and managing social distancing, tight hygiene control, one way access where necessary, handwashing and temperature checks.