Southwark Council has vowed to build 1,000 more council homes, claiming it has already delivered thousands across the borough.
The council says it has “achieved” its goal of building or starting 2,5000 new council homes by May 2022.
This comes as a recent Freedom of Information (FOI) request revealed that the local authority had built fewer than 42 council houses a year between 2018 – 22, despite having 16,500 people on the housing waiting list.
The council claimed it had reached its building target “early” and “exceeded the number of projected new council homes.”
This is because its own figures include homes that it has “started” to build, besides those it is building.
It contested the FOI, saying between 2018 – 22 the council had actually delivered 366 new homes, including those it bought back and gained through planning requirements, alongside direct builds.
“I’m so proud to announce that we have exceeded our target of providing 2,500 new council homes by May 2022,” said Cllr Kieron Williams, leader of Southwark Council. “This is an important milestone which represents years of hard work from our staff.
“Every single one of these new homes will make an enormous difference to someone’s life and will help to tackle social inequality and homelessness in our borough,” he added.
The council’s claim it has exceeded its homes target is based on building work in progress at 46 sites across the borough. These sites, it says, will deliver 1,600 homes on top of the more than 800 it claims to have completed. Now it has committed to starting 1,000 more by 2026, meaning between 2014 and 2026 the council says it will deliver 3,500 council-owned homes at council rent levels.
Only 366 council properties were added to the council’s books between February 2018 – 2020 through buy-backs, planning obligations and new-builds, according to the FOI.
The council says it had reached their target “in spite” of the coronavirus pandemic “which has seen contractual delays of up to six months” and “Brexit matters creating material cost increases, together with labour shortages and general anxiety in the market.”
“In these difficult times the whole of the council has united to ensure that this target remained at the forefront such that it was successfully achieved,” the council added.
Southwark Council boasts of having Britain’s “most ambitious” council house building scheme, with an aim of creating 11,000 extra council homes by 2043.
“Our council homes building programme is one of the biggest in the country, and reaches across the length and breadth of the borough,” said Cllr Stephanie Cryan, cabinet member for homes and homelessness.
“We have said many times that there is a real human cost to the housing crisis. With more than 16,500 households on our waiting list for a council home – often in overcrowded conditions – not building more is simply not an option,” she added.
The council said the “government’s welfare reforms, coupled with astronomical rent levels in the private sector and the cost of living crisis, have made the housing market increasingly unaffordable. This leaves people with no option but to seek help from local authorities, despite our budgets being slashed year on year.”
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