Lewisham Council right to buy and new build figures via my Council questions

LONDON BOROUGH OF LEWISHAM

COUNCIL MEETING

21 JUNE 2017

Question asked by: Mr Woolford

Member to reply:      Councillor Egan

Question

1.    How many Council flats have been demolished and sites cleared?

2.    How many homes bought under right to buy?

3.   How many council homes been sold on the open market? 

Reply

The Council has a wide ranging approach to tackling the housing crisis, prioritising the construction of as many new homes as possible in a range of ways. These include our first new Council homes for a generation, of which 162 are either under construction today. We are well on our way to our target of 500 net new Council homes.

Our approach also includes innovative new ways to better house homeless families, buying street properties across the borough – 81 to date – and larger properties like Hamilton Lodge. Of course this also includes the award winning PLACE/Ladywell development, which houses homeless families and creates jobs for local people.

Where it is the best option overall, we are also undertaking large scale estate regeneration, but we are doing it in a way that prioritises the needs and interests of our residents. We are delivering two such projects at present, on the Heathside and Lethbridge and Excalibur estates, and between them these will deliver 820 net new homes, as well as rehousing every existing resident who chooses to remain in a new home that meets the decent homes standard. To do this 284 homes were demolished, alongside one further home, on Mayow Road in Sydenham which was demolished following a fire

The number of homes sold under the Right to Buy over the past five years is as follows, sadly there has been a sharp increase since the government increased the level of discounts:

2016 / 2017: 117

2015 / 2016: 116

2014 / 2015: 122

2013 / 2014: 102

2012 / 2013: 17

The number of homes sold on the open market is one. This property, on Ashmead Road, was sold in order to fund the construction of a further four Council homes.

This is NUTs , Council forced to sell under Right to buy its much needed housing stock, faster than it can build or replace..Economics of the madhouse from this Goverment