New affordable homes in Central London get green light

Published by Julien Tremblin for 24dash.com in Housing

A new £5 million affordable housing development in central London has been approved by Westminster City Council.

The scheme will deliver 24 new build homes, comprising of 17 social housing units and 7 shared-ownership properties in Pimlico.

The £4.6 million project put forward by Sanctuary Housing - a housing association which manages nearly 80,000 homes - has been backed by the council in a bid to "tackle overcrowding in the city".

The majority of homes will consist of two beds or more and will cater for local families in need of larger space.

The new building has been designed to look identical to the original structure to "stay in keeping with the history of the Pimlico area".

Cllr Jonathan Glanz, Westminster’s Cabinet Member for Housing, said: “Projects like these are fundamental in tackling issues of overcrowding and housing shortage in the city.

“We fully support this development as an effective method to utilise and maximise existing space to address the rising housing demand.

“This is an exemplary project that will accommodate the needs of both families and those who want to live and work in Westminster.”

David Gooch, Sanctuary’s Director of Development in the South, said: “With the cost of apartments in the centre of London, developments like this are a vital part of helping young people not only get their first foot on the ladder but also help families to continue to afford to stay living in the city.

“This development will help to preserve this historic corner of Westminster while still creating new state of the art apartments for people to live in.”

Set to be completed in June 2012, Wolfson House was a former sheltered housing block which failed to meet housing standards and was deemed not fit for purpose in 2010.