Why does the Council need to build more homes?

The average cost of renting a flat in Tower Hamlets is now more than the average household income. There are already more than 19,000 households on the housing register in need of an affordable home and more than 2,000 households are living in temporary accommodation. Although more new homes were built in Tower Hamlets in 2018 than anywhere else in the UK, the average price is now 22 times the average salary, so our residents often can’t afford to buy them.

In response, the council has committed to delivering 2,000 new council homes. These genuinely affordable homes will include properties big enough for families. One in ten will be wheelchair accessible.

At just eight square miles, space to build in Tower Hamlets is in short supply. We’re making the most of land that we already own, including buildings no longer used as they once were.

But that isn’t enough. We also need to look closely at whether there is room for us to increase the number of homes on existing estates.

We can do this by finding ‘infill sites’ or gaps on estates where new buildings can go. We’re also looking carefully to see if we can redevelop existing estates to replace older buildings with ones that are modern, better designed and crucially, that provide more council homes for our residents.

Read next: why Harriott,Apsley and Pattison (HAP) houses