Despite uneasy economic times, Southwark Council has seen no stall in construction, with 227 new homes completed since summer this year.
This most recent wave of completions will contribute to the council’s ambitious target to build 11,000 new council homes by 2043 and 1,500 by 2018. All the new homes will be 50% local lettings, meaning local residents in housing need can bid for them.
What was formally known as the Masterman House site on Elmington Estate has now been named Piper Court after the local artist John Piper. The site, in Camberwell, designed by PRP Architects, comprises 25 units – 15 council homes, one intermediate rent and nine private to help pay for the scheme and to ensure the council homes can be let at target rent.
In the north of the borough, in Long Lane (Villiers Court), underused pieces of land and old council buildings have made way for 21 new council homes and one commercial unit, all designed by Levitt Bernstein. The homes will be included in successful Tenant Managed Organisation, Leathermarket JMB, allowing new residents to effectively self manage.
In Surrey Docks, on Fisher Close, the first block of eight council rent units completed in May and the second block of 15 have completed over the past week. Ten shared ownership homes were handed over for sale in September, and are in the marketing process.
In the south of the borough, Soon to be completed are new homes on Cator Street in Peckham, designed by PRP Architects and now called Tayo Sito House after the late Mayor of Southwark who sadly passed away in 2011. This will include 42 extra care homes. And in East Dulwich Estate, nine more social homes at Gatebeck House and Southdown (ten council, eight shared ownership), both designed by Bailey Garner, will complete by the end of the year. As well as larger scale projects, the council works on a number of ‘hidden homes’ projects where under-used spaces on existing housing estates (such as garages or laundries) are converted into brand new flats. On the Clifton Estate in Peckham, former garages have become eight new homes at Parish Apartments, completed in July this year. Nunhead Green is a brand new development which will see a further eight new homes.
All the homes are built to an extremely high specification and all council homes will be let at target rent – which is around 40 per cent of the local rent level.
Councillor Mark Williams, cabinet member for regeneration, said:
“In Southwark, we are tackling the housing crisis head-on by building more homes of every kind. Our new council home building programme is the most ambitious in the country and I’m delighted that more and more local people are moving into their new council homes. We cannot rest on our laurels and will continue to build the homes our residents so desperately need.”
