LONDON,
01
February
2022
|
11:15
Europe/London

Camden Council ask residents: 'where should new council homes be built?'

New council homes are a top priority in Camden. Camden Council is now asking residents to identify areas where new council and living rent homes should be built.

Through its’ New Homes for Small Sites programme, the Council will explore and consult with residents on opportunities for building new homes on council owned land.

The programme will build new council and genuinely affordable homes, built for local residents to high standards of design and sustainability.

Delivered as part of the council’s Community Investment Programme, the programme will also provide wider improvements to estates where new homes are built, and the council will seek to work on the delivery of some of the homes with small and medium sized enterprises and community-led developers.

A previous review by the council identified the potential for over 500 new homes to be built on unused and under-utilised council land across the borough.

Now the council wants residents to have their say on where new homes should be built and is launching a community ‘call for ideas.’

To have you say visit camdencallforideas.commonplace.is

Councillor Danny Beales, Cabinet Member for Cabinet Member for Investing in Communities, Culture and an Inclusive Economy

Residents have told us that they want the council to build as many genuinely affordable homes as we can, as quickly as we can. Through our New Homes for Small Sites programme we will be doing exactly that.

Camden prides itself on delivering new homes in collaboration with our residents and we will be asking them to tell us where we can build new council and affordable homes on small poorly used sites on our land. Residents know their estates and areas best. They will often know of disused spaces, garages and sheds in poor repair that could be used more effectively. 

At a time when only 6 per cent of Camden’s funding for building and refurbishing homes comes from central government, we must continue to look for innovative and exciting new ways to deliver the affordable homes our residents need. We intend to make some sites available to local community land trusts and self-builders so that they can follow-suit and also build more community-focused housing while helping to provide the vital funding we need to deliver 100% affordable housing on other sites delivered by Camden.

This is about creating a shared vision and legacy for our estates with new investment and new homes that are high quality, sustainable, genuinely affordable and will meet the needs of local residents now and for years to come.

Councillor Danny Beales, Cabinet Member for Cabinet Member for Investing in Communities, Culture and an Inclusive Economy

Following the community ‘call for ideas,’ additional engagement will commence on specific sites that will enable detailed conversations with residents before the Council’s Cabinet will be asked to approve a final selection of small sites for development. 

The New Homes for Small Sites programme will be the latest expansion of the Community Investment Programme, which has built 991 new homes and provided new council homes to over 1,000 residents, including 453 children, many of whom previously lived in overcrowded homes.

The programme has also delivered some of the most energy efficient homes in the UK – helping residents cut their fuel bills and carbon emissions – and has built three new school buildings, two community centres and refurbished two homeless hostels