Hundreds of new council homes to be built in central London

Hundreds of new homes are to be built in the heart of the capital following a grant of almost £36 million from the Housing Corporation, Westminster City Council announced today.

Over the next four years, 526 homes will be built on brownfield and under-used sites on existing council estates in Westminster.

The scheme is believed to be the biggest council house building programme that central London has seen for a generation.

It includes 104 shared ownership flats and 69 one-bedroom starter homes with a discounted price of around £150,000, which will benefit Westminster residents struggling to get a foot on the housing ladder.

These starter homes will remain affordable through a clause in the lease that means the discount on the market price has to be passed on to future purchasers.

The project will also create 246 rented homes, of which more than 50% will have three bedrooms or more, benefiting overcrowded households in the city.

Overall, approximately four in every 10 affordable units will be for low cost home ownership, aimed at helping residents who may be able to afford to buy a share in a property but have no prospect of buying outright on the open market.

The council today confirmed CityWest Homes, which manages 22,000 homes in central London on behalf of the authority, was awarded £5.3million from the Housing Corporation. The remaining sum will be released to City West Homes over the next four years.

The grant came after a bid to the Housing Corporation by CityWest Homes, supported by Westminster Council.

Westminster City Council's Cabinet Member for Housing, Cllr Phillipa Roe, said: "This grant is a major boost to many residents looking to get a foot on the housing ladder and those living in overcrowded conditions.

"It is one of our top priorities to provide more affordable housing in the heart of the capital and we are delighted to have secured the support from the Housing Corporation."

Brian Johnson, chief executive of CityWest Homes, added: "This is tremendous news for us but more importantly it's even better news for the people of Westminster.

"It means that we can now press ahead with our programme to build new homes for local people who need them.

"We will now begin working closely with a number of communities where we can develop new homes and start bringing forward schemes in the next 12 months or so."

To help finance the scheme, along with the grant from the Housing Corporation, CityWest Homes will be building 107 homes, which will be sold at market price.

The homes are set to be built across Westminster including areas such as Little Venice, Hyde Park, Bayswater, Edgware road and Queen's Park.

Consultation with residents is set to begin in the coming weeks.