Artist's impression of the new Civic Campus on Nigel Playfair Avenue, Hammersmith
Hammersmith & Fulham Council has secured £32million to build hundreds more affordable homes locally.
The new funding will see H&F deliver 394 new homes for local residents. This increases the number of new homes to be built by H&F Council to more than 1,800 new homes over the next 10 years.
Read the 2018 Local Plan (very large pdf file, 16.4MB)
“We’re absolutely determined to ensure that we continue to build genuinely affordable homes in the borough,” said Cllr Andrew Jones, H&F Cabinet Member for the Economy.
“Local people must have the chance to stay in H&F and we’re doing everything we can to provide safe, comfortable and secure homes for the next generation.
“Since Covid hit, we have injected over £90m of funding, along with business rate relief of £134m, into our local businesses and high streets. Building on this investment and on our ambitious Industrial Strategy, we want H&F to be the best place to live and work in Europe while making sure that no one is left behind.”
Types of housing
The new funding will see the construction of 394 homes started in H&F by 2026, including an estimated 186 properties for social rent and 208 at intermediate rent. The grant was recently agreed with the Mayor of London.
The new grant will also support H&F’s wider home-building programme to add 781 new social rent homes and 505 intermediate homes to the borough. This means that, of the 1,800 new low-cost homes coming to H&F, 69 per cent will be for social rent.
New standards and demands
Housing providers building homes funded by H&F will also have to meet new conditions on building safety and design, these include:
- the installation of sprinklers or other fire suppression systems in new blocks of flats
- a ban on combustible materials being used in external walls for all residential development, regardless of height
- minimum floor-to-ceiling heights and a requirement for private outdoor space.
Sunlight clause
A ‘sunlight clause’ is included, requiring all homes with three or more bedrooms to be dual aspect, any single aspect one- or two-bedroom homes to not be north-facing and at least one room to have direct sunlight for at least part of the day.
Accessible and affordable
A condition to increase the supply of accessible and affordable housing is included to meet the needs with disabled residents, as set out in our new Disabled People’s Housing Strategy.
Homes on the way
More than 200 new homes are being built in our new Civic Campus development in Hammersmith – 52 per cent will be classified as genuinely affordable for local residents. The plans also include a new the transformation of Grade II-listed Hammersmith Town Hall into a modern public building at the heart of the community alongside a new cinema, shops and restaurants and a public piazza.
We’ve started work to build a new ‘EdCity’ education hub, 132 affordable homes and new office space for up to 1,000 jobs in White City. The partnership with education charity Ark also includes a new Ark Swift primary school building, nursery and adult education centre, as well as a state-of-the-art Youth Zone for local residents.
We’re also working with the community in White City to create 200-300 homes – with at least half of those being genuinely affordable for local people. The project will also provide new facilities and play space for the White City Estate.
Consultation with Fulham residents has begun to re-build more than 112 new genuinely affordable homes on the Aintree Estate after we demolished Hartopp Point and Lannoy Point for safety reasons. Current plans will double the number of trees planted along Pellant Road and Williams Close, improve local walking routes for pedestrians, and be built to ‘Passivehaus’ standards – ecological requirements to make them carbon neutral – reducing energy bills for residents by up to 30 per cent.
We’ve also just started working with residents near the former children’s centre at 11 Farm Lane in Fulham Broadway to provide 30 new homes on the site.
Edith Summerskill House
We urgently need to replace the homes on the site of the former Edith Summerskill House in central Fulham. We demolished the out-dated building to re-build 133 much-needed new affordable homes – 80 per cent of which will be social rent homes prioritised for residents of the Clem Attlee Estate and local people.
The plans also include a new community hall, landscaping and play space, as well as local employment opportunities with 28 apprenticeships and work placements.
However, the scheme has now been “called in” for review by the Secretary of State. This will add significant delay to the construction of much-needed genuinely affordable homes for Fulham residents.
To help us demonstrate that there is strong community support for more affordable homes in Fulham, we urge you to share your views with the Government by emailing leanne.palmer@planninginspectorate.gov.uk and quote reference number: APP/H5390/V/21/3277137
This is our only chance to demonstrate the strong community support for the much-needed genuinely affordable homes in Fulham.
What does ‘genuinely affordable’ mean?
Affordable housing: Generally, these are homes for people whose needs are not met by the private housing market.
Affordable rent: Typically, these homes are let at rent levels higher than social rent homes but lower than open market rent.
Genuinely affordable: The lowest and cheapest rents in the local housing market. Typically, these are social rent or London affordable rent homes.
Intermediate housing: Homes that are for rent and sale below private market levels. This type of affordable housing is aimed at people who do not qualify for social housing but cannot afford to rent or buy on the open market. It includes products such as shared ownership, shared equity and discounted market sales – as well as rent products such as London Living Rent and intermediate rent.
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