Two London neighbourhoods are getting nearly 4,000 new homes

Building new homes takes a long, long time. Often, developments get stuck in the planning system for years and years before they finally start construction, and that means housing isn’t getting built fast enough to keep up with demand. But the government has come up with a scheme that it hopes will solve that. 

Two London neighbourhoods are among six sites in England that have just been added to the government’s New Homes Accelerator programme. It gives councils extra planning capacity, removes regulatory hurdles and cuts red tape for developments that have been stalled, meaning that they can build new homes faster.

Two neighbourhoods close to the city have been added to the programme as well as two inside London itself. The former are Wisley Airfield in Guildford and Hampden Fields, in Aylesbury, Buckinghamshire, which together are expected to create roughly 4,700 new homes. Inside the city, the neighbourhoods that have been given an extra boost are Billet Road in Redbridge and High Road West in Haringey.

The development at Billet Road promises 1,341 new homes plus a community hub and public open spaces, including a central green and kids play spaces. Apparently, all of the streets will be lined with trees and most of the buildings will be low to mid-rise, with a few landmark buildings rising up to eight storeys. 

Planning permission for High Road West in Tottenham was granted way back in 2022. There are just over 2,600 homes planned for this site, 40 percent of which will be affordable housing. Plans also include a library, a learning centre, a public park and a civic square. 

Mayor Sadiq Khan said: ‘I’m pleased the government is working with London boroughs to unblock housebuilding as part of its plan to deliver the good growth our country needs. I’m determined to use all the powers at my disposal to build the homes Londoners need and get Britain building again.

‘I look forward to working with ministers on the action and investment needed to accelerate the delivery of new homes as we continue building a better, fairer London for everyone.’

So far the government says it has removed blockages for the building of 100,000 new homes. The other two sites added to the New Homes Accelerator this month are Comeytrowe Garden Community (also known as Orchard Grove) in Somerset and North Leigh Park in Wigan. Altogether 12,000 new homes are expected across the six sites. 

Those aren’t all the new homes being built across the capital city. Right now there are plans for 14,000 in Wandsworth, an entire new town in west London, 6,000 new homes in the northwest, 900 in south London and a whopping 20,000 in the southeast. 

Here’s why a development at Blackheath Station is so controversial. 

And the new London train route Crossrail 2 will begin construction next year.