The first tenants have moved into new council housing just in time for Christmas where those on the dole are excluded.
Anyone out of work won’t be allocated one of the flats or houses at Barking’s new Thames View East development.
“These homes are only available to people in employment,” Barking & Dagenham council said in a statement. “It’s to help working people unable to get a mortgage and unable to get council housing.”
Rents are as high as 80 per cent of the open market value, under government guidelines for public and social housing.
The council’s cabinet member for housing, Mick McCarthy, said: “We have plans in the pipeline to build more than 1,000 new homes aimed at working people, which are an important part of the solution to the housing crisis.”
Yusra Seef was among the first 76 tenants to move into Thames View East with her family when given the keys to her new rented four-bedroom house in Crouch Avenue. She used to live in one of the council properties that were demolished to make way for the new development. Another 177 families join them in the New Year.
A second development for 200 families is also due for completion at William Street Quarter in Barking town centre.
Both schemes, which replace old council estates with a mix of new flats and houses from one-bed to four bedrooms to be finished by May, are being managed by Barking & Dagenham Reside housing company set up by the local authority.
They are technically not council housing so are not subject to right-to-buy, although the company is wholly owned by the local authority. Ownership passes back to the council after 60 years.
The council’s cabinet member for regeneration, Cameron Geddes, said: “We needed a creative way to build new housing in the middle of an economic downturn—so we came up with the idea for Barking & Dagenham Reside, which means we can get Private Sector funding for reasonably-priced housing.”
The two developments are a joint venture between the Town Hall and the Local Education Partnership which includes contractors and developers.
Some properties are still not allocated. Applications can be made on 0845-230 8099, online at bdreside.co.uk or email reside@lbbd.gov.uk.
Comments: Our rules
We want our comments to be a lively and valuable part of our community - a place where readers can debate and engage with the most important local issues. The ability to comment on our stories is a privilege, not a right, however, and that privilege may be withdrawn if it is abused or misused.
Please report any comments that break our rules.
Read the rules here