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Council approves housing company’s business plan to build 4,000 homes
A London council has approved its housing company’s business plan to build more than 4,000 new homes.
Jack Hopkins, leader of Lambeth Council, has signed off on Homes for Lambeth’s (HfL) £375m three-year plan.
It will see the wholly owned company deliver 1,196 new homes by 2025 with 54% for affordable tenures, including 439 for council rents.
HfL is also set to roll-out a £2m “social investment programme” on six priority estate across the borough, which is intended to create jobs, apprenticeships and training opportunities over the next five years, Lambeth Council said.
The company’s development arm, HfL Build, expects to start turning a £3m profit by 2023/24 off a turnover of around £120m.
Its housing association subsidiary, HfL Homes, which will retain units built for rent, aims to achieve a £0.3m profit in the same year from a £7.7m turnover.
Surplus generated by HfL is set to be reinvested in new developments.
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Matthew Bennett, cabinet member for planning, investment and new homes at Lambeth Council, said: “This is the biggest council building programme in Lambeth for a generation, because we know the housing crisis can’t be fought without the council playing its part to build homes for local families.
“While the council’s focus is now rightly on supporting our residents through the coronavirus emergency, it’s also right that we plan for the future.”
Richard Reynolds, chair of HfL Group, said: “In the past 12 months, we have assembled a highly skilled team ready to deliver this inspiring plan.
“We are in uncharted waters at the moment. However I am confident that with hard work and dedication our team, working in close partnership with the council, residents and contractors, will succeed.”
HfL is leading the council’s programme to regenerate its housing estates.
It has made 80 starts on the Westbury and Knight’s Walk estates in the past year and has 70 tenants in homes at its Lollard Street scheme.
The company intends to submit planning applications for 153 homes across several small sites in 2020/21.
Homes it builds are also set to go beyond building regulations on energy efficiency and the council’s target to reduce carbon emissions from buildings by 35%.
HfL was established in November 2018 and HfL Homes registered with the Regulator of Social Housing in January 2019.
It is a group with three subsidiaries: HfL Build, HfL Homes and HfL Living, a private rented sector company.
The council has agreed to loan HfL £300m to finance its ambitions.
Lambeth has one of the longest housing waiting lists in the country, with more than 25,000 households in need of a council home.
