The council’s plans were first set out in March 2024, the first year of the New Homes Programme (NHP). A refreshed report providing a progress update on the programme was adopted by Cabinet on 17 March, which set out the next steps for continuing this work. It includes an increased commitment to build a minimum of 600 new affordable homes on council owned land by 2030, up from the previous target of a minimum of 500.
As well as this delivery, Lambeth’s Local Plan sets out the council’s commitment to maximising housing growth and affordable housing by developers across the borough beyond council-owned land. Through planning, Lambeth has over 10,500 homes approved to support the government’s growth mission to build more new homes.
Cllr Danny Adilypour, Deputy Leader of the Council and Member for Sustainable Growth and New Homes said: “We have made real progress over the last year in speeding up the delivery of new affordable housing in Lambeth.
“This is vital work being carried out in challenging times, but in the face of a national housing crisis which is heavily impacting people in Lambeth we are determined to do all we can to make a difference for the 35,000 people on our council housing waiting list and the 4,800 homeless households in often sub-standard temporary accommodation.
“We are aligned with the Government’s house building agenda and have now agreed as a council to increase our affordable house building target for council owned land to a minimum of 600 by 2030 as part of this commitment.”
Highlights of the New Homes Programme over the last 12 months include:
- Achieving practical completion on three sites already under construction delivering over 100 new homes, 90 percent of which are at social rent levels.
- Selecting a development partner to deliver up to 400 homes on Somerleyton Road, of which more than half will be affordable, subject to planning.
- Selecting a delivery partner to deliver up to 250 homes on Brixton Station Road, of which at least 40 percent will be affordable, subject to planning.
- Launching procurement for a development partner to deliver the renewal of Westbury Estate, with the potential to deliver between 400 and 700 new homes.
- Establishing the New Homes Six (NH6) portfolio and launching procurement for a development partner, with the potential to deliver up to 450 homes.
- Advancing a proposed development agreement for the Leigham Court Road car-park site in Streatham.
Over the next 12 months, the council will continue to build on this momentum by seeking a development partner to deliver new homes and area improvements on the Westbury Estate, and on six development-ready sites in some of Lambeth’s most sought-after areas, that together can deliver up to 450 new homes. The council will also progress plans for new homes on former school sites, identify new housing delivery opportunities, and support current development projects on council owned land to move through procurement and planning processes towards construction phases.
A new workstream with the specific focus of increasing temporary accommodation supply, to tackle one of Local Government’s most significant challenges, will also be driven by the New Homes Programme.
Cllr Adilypour said: “We are speeding up house building in the borough of all types, socially rented, intermediate, temporary accommodation, and private – to tackle the housing crisis. But we also remain committed to strong communication and engagement with our communities as this work progresses, so these initiatives work for all our residents.”
In the first year of the NHP the Council has engaged with 1,300 residents across 80 events and activities as part of our estate renewal programme and will continue to prioritise good engagement and communication for the next year of the programme. Lessons learned activities have been carried out for work completed to date, and the first of our resident charters, informed by this learning, sets out the resident engagement expectations for the next phases of delivery at Westbury. The council’s actions will be informed and influenced by this essential feedback loop with residents.
Going one step further, and to ensure that all council delivery partners provide the same level of engagement and communication, a new framework for all schemes, outlines a set of commitments for working collaboratively and effectively with residents impacted by any council led development near to their homes.
