The Mayor of London, Sadiq Khan, visited a street of newly built, four-bedroom council homes in Brent, meeting with families as they settled into their new homes.
Councillor Muhammed Butt, the Leader of Brent Council, and Brent’s new Chief Executive, Kim Wright, accompanied the Mayor on his tour, which included a visit to the new properties in Milton Avenue, Stonebridge.
The 22 new four-bedroom homes, complete with private gardens and sheds for storage, are around the corner from blocks of 51 one-, two- and three-bedroom flats due to be completed next month.
Brent partnered with Higgins Group to deliver the development in Milton Avenue and Hillside, Stonebridge. All the properties will be let out to households at social rent prices.
Councillor Muhammed Butt, Leader of Brent Council, said: “Brent provided more homes than any other council in the country last year and is also proudly the highest social housing builder in London.
“A safe and secure home is the foundation for people to build their lives upon, and we know three and four-bedroom homes are most in demand.
“That is why we are delighted to hand over an entire street of 22 four-bedroom council homes and 51 one-, two- and three-bedroom flats, all at social rent, to Brent families in Stonebridge.
“This will change the lives of more than 70 families for the better and brings us a huge step closer to achieving our ambitious target of 1,700 homes by 2028 as we strive to create a fairer, more equal Brent for all.”
The Hillside development includes energy saving design measures and as well as a commercial space that will be transformed into a community centre. The final landscaping and a children’s play park will be finished by June 2023.
The Mayor of London, Sadiq Khan, said: “It was great to visit Brent and see the new council homes that local residents have moved into.
“There’s no quick fix to London’s current housing crisis, but I’m hugely proud at the progress we’re making delivering a new era in council homebuilding in the capital. We’ve hit our ambitious target early, with more than 23,000 City Hall-funded council homes started since 2018. This is the highest number since the 1970s, and a key part of my plans to build a better, fairer London for everyone.”
Since April 2016, Brent has begun work on around 2,000 affordable homes with a total allocation of £138m from the Mayor’s affordable housing programme.
Steve Leakey, Managing Director for Higgins Partnerships, commented: “We are proud to have worked in partnership with Brent Council to deliver these much-needed council homes, which will benefit the local community.
“We are committed to building strong, safer and more sustainable communities and working collaboratively with our partners to ensure they are accessible to all. As part of this development, we created 10 apprenticeships, including a focus on disadvantaged groups. We also established a partnership with Jason Roberts Foundation and Brent Council to provide a programme of support to young people including mentoring, life skills, education, and training projects within its wider sports activities.”
