A model for delivering new homes

Southwark Council’s work in Old Kent Road has been highlighted by the GLA as a model example of how local authorities can deliver affordable housing by acquiring private land.

A Greater London Authority (GLA) report, Building London’s Future, has used Southwark’s plan to build new homes on the site of Curry’s PC World and B&M, in Old Kent Road, to illustrate how local authorities can meet affordable housing targets through land acquisition.

The council is building 11,000 new council homes to meet the high demand for genuinely affordable housing in the borough.

As well as delivering traditionally tendered, new build schemes on council-owned land, the council is also purchasing private land to support a longer-term, strategic pipeline of sites for affordable housing.

The Curry’s PC World site (585-589 Old Kent Road) purchased by the council, last year, alongside the adjacent B&M store site, is a prime example.

Acquiring two sites in close proximity brings multiple benefits, especially as they can be redeveloped together. It maximises the sites’ potential for new homes, and it will enable Southwark to deliver more of the community infrastructure pledged for Old Kent Road.

In total, 500 new homes will be delivered here, 50 per cent of which will be new council homes for social rent. The prominent location of the two sites also provides an opportunity to create a significant amount of new, commercial floorspace.

Sites like these are enabling the council to strengthen its pipeline of long-term housing delivery and will help to meet the borough’s future housing needs.

Southwark is already on track to build 2,500 of its 11,000 new council homes by 2022 and will continue its land acquisition strategy to ensure it hits the target.