Cash from mayor for new housing

Mayor of London awards grant for new social housing in Enfield

A housing scheme in Bressy Avenue, Enfield, jointly funded by the council and City Hall — *A housing scheme in Bressy Avenue, Enfield, part-funded by City Hall*

Enfield Council’s efforts to tackle shortages of social housing in the borough have been boosted by a £166.6million grant from City Hall.

The Greater London Authority agreed to fund construction of 1,120 new council homes in the borough, with one-third of these set to be provided as part of the redevelopment of Joyce and Snells estates in Angel Edmonton.

Other sites that will benefit from the cash are the council’s newly-approved scheme to extend a housing estate at Exeter Road in Enfield Highway; an ongoing redevelopment in Bury Street West, Bush Hill Park; new housing in Bullsmoor Lane; and at Upton and Raynham Roads in Edmonton. Several other new council housing schemes are also in the pipeline.

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The funding is the second highest of the recent grants made to boroughs by City Hall and has been described as a “huge vote of confidence from Sadiq Khan” in the council’s homebuilding programme.

It comes after the number of social rent homes owned by the council declined from 15,963 in 1994 to 10,692 in 2020 – a drop of 33% – with much of this driven by Right to Buy sales. The borough has the second-highest number of people living in temporary accommodation in the country, with 3,414 households in 2019, while the council also has more than 4,000 families on its waiting list for social housing.

Council leader Nesil Caliskan said: “We were delighted to receive the news from the Mayor of London that Enfield has been awarded generous and vital funding to build more and much-needed council homes in the borough.

“I look forward to seeing the housebuilding programme begin and the difference good quality housing will make to the lives of Enfield people.”

The new homes funded by City Hall will be delivered over a five-year period from March 2023 and will be required to meet “stringent safety and design requirements”.

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