Genuine affordable homes plans

Cllr Rachel Tripp, chair, Newham Council’s strategic development committee and Cllr Daniel Blaney, former chair, Newham Council’s strategic development committee, write:

We note you have described Newham Council’s plans for new council homes for the over-55s on the former Hartley Centre site as “affordable” with quotation marks, implying to readers that this scheme may be similar to many approved across London in recent years that have made the label affordable next to meaningless (Homes at former Hartley Centre site gets nod from Newham despite objections).

Newham Recorder: Newham is eyeing £40million from the government's levelling up pot of funding.Newham is eyeing £40million from the government's levelling up pot of funding. (Image: Archant)

It is understandable if readers and residents are sceptical.

However, 100 per cent of the new homes are anticipated to go to existing Newham council tenants, downsizing from larger or more inaccessible properties from our council housing stock.

Those vacated homes can then go to people who are on our housing waiting list and desperately waiting for a council home.

The new dwellings at the former Hartley Centre site will be rented at the rate of a fairly new rental scheme called London Affordable Rent.

This scheme, introduced by Sadiq Khan as mayor of London, is to ensure new affordable housing funded by the GLA was genuinely low cost rent.

As your article rightly points out, 100 per cent of the new dwellings on the former Hartley Centre site will be at this low-cost rent.