Newly published figures have revealed how Greenwich Council’s delivery of social housing is well below the London average.
The figures, published by the GMB union, show that over the past year 23.1% of the new homes built in London have been for social rent (a form of housing traditionally known as council housing). In contrast just 8.3% of homes built in the Labour-controlled Royal Borough of Greenwich over the same time period have been for social rent – just 130 out of 1,560 new homes.
Greenwich Council’s failure to deliver social housing for local families has been further highlighted by a Council decision last month to propose approval for a proposed 27 home development in Greenwich, despite it not containing affordable housing of any kind.
Commenting today Matt Browne, a Green candidate for Greenwich’s Peninsula ward, said:
The London-wide figures are bad enough, but Greenwich has managed barely a third of that – 8% of new homes being for social rent is a dismal effort. Socially rented homes are genuinely affordable homes, and allow key workers and families to stay where they belong – at the heart of our community.
The Greens are demanding that Labour does better, and proposed in last year’s Mayoral election that at least 16,000 new socially rented homes be built in the capital by 2020. Greenwich needs Greens to deliver genuinely affordable housing for local people.