Sadiq Khan sets up new scheme to deliver 10,000 council homes by 2022

The Mayor of London has committed to supporting 10,000 new council homes in the next four years.

Sadiq Khan today offered new funding of £1.67bn to help councils in their quest to build new social housing. The money was secured in the chancellor’s Spring Statement.

This marks the first ever City Hall programme dedicated to supporting social housing.

The first deals struck under the initiative include a plan for 525 new homes in Waltham Forest, and 1,000 new homes in both Newham and Lewisham over the next four years.

Khan accused the government of having “turned its back” on local authorities and “hampering” their ability to build new homes.

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“The government is failing to enable councils to replace the hundreds of thousands of council homes sold through Right to Buy, and so I will do all I can to help councils replace as many of them as possible,” he said.

He pledged to call for the government to give London councils access to increased borrowing limits to give greater flexibility.

Expertise and resources from City Hall will also be made available to local councils in the capital to scale up homebuilding programmes.

Mayor of Newham, Rokhsana Fiaz OBE 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 housebuilding in the capital as the only way we can realistically tackle the housing crisis.”

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