Plans for 306 new homes for single people, senior citizens, couples and families in Acton and Northolt have been approved by Ealing Council’s cabinet at it’s recent February meeting (22 February 2023).
The Labour-run council says work to build the homes will start this month and is expected to be completed between end of 2024 and early 2026.
The new homes will include 181 council homes to rent which the council in a statement said: “All will be let at rents priced to suit the budgets of local people on low to moderate incomes.”
Of the 181 rental homes, 71 will be built for senior citizens on the Steyne Road estate in Acton, 84 homes will be built on the former Northolt Grange community centre and 26 flats will be build on Sussex Crescent in Northolt.
Another 125 homes will be offered as shared ownership or sold. This includes eight at Northolt Grange and 117 homes being built in Steyne Road.
The council says its council homes are funded from the proceeds of these sales along with some funding from a proportion of a £99m grant from the Greater London Authority
Councillor Peter Mason, leader of Ealing Council said: “London’s affordable housing crisis has left many hardworking people without a place to call their own. That’s why we’re running one of London’s biggest council homebuilding programmes, and I am pleased that these three sites will be progressing over the next few years.”
Councillor Shital Manro, Ealing Council cabinet member for good growth added: “We are determined to deliver the new affordable homes that Ealing urgently needs. Brexit, the pandemic, the war in Ukraine and the national financial turmoil caused by the government last autumn have created very difficult economic conditions. However, we are determined to continue to deliver for Ealing residents in spite of the challenging climate, and we are confident that we can continue building the homes that will stop local families being priced out of their communities.”
Ealing Council opposition party, Liberal Democrats while welcoming the homes want to see a higher number of “genuinely affordable homes” being offered to residents in Ealing.
Councillor Jon Ball, Liberal Democrat spokesperson for planning and housing said: “I welcome the news that these much-needed affordable homes will be built but I note that this announcement includes some shared ownership, which is difficult to describe as genuinely affordable for many residents in this borough.”
Councillor Ball added: “Also the bigger picture in delivering genuinely affordable homes is forcing private developers to deliver 50% genuinely affordable homes in their schemes, which represent much bigger numbers of homes, and this administration continues to be too soft on developers in that respect.”
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