Sutton completes first council house building programme in 30 years

The London Borough of Sutton has completed its first programme of new council house building for 30 years. Sutton’s focus has been on building homes that not only offer high-quality accommodation but also enhance the local environment, as part of its Ambitious for Sutton programme, to make the borough a great place to live, work and raise a family.

In total, Sutton has built 93 new homes – 15 houses were finished in October last year, and now 21 new houses and 57 new flats are ready for people to move in. This building programme was possible because of changes in financial regulations allowing councils to borrow to build council housing. The council also used money raised from right-to-buy sales, and the balance will be repaid from future rental income from the properties, which means that there is no impact on Council Tax.

Jayne McCoy, Deputy Leader of Sutton Council and Chair of the Housing, Economy & Business Committee, says, “Our key objective has been to focus on quality for these new homes, as we believe that all our residents deserve a good-quality place to live, improving their life chances, the local area and the wider urban environment.

“We are investing significantly in the future of the borough. These are first-class homes we are proud of and they rightly set a high design benchmark for the private developers we seek to attract.”

Sutton’s new council homes are on three sites across the borough:

• Fellowes Road, Carshalton – 15 houses completed in October 2018

• Alcester Road, Wallington – 57 flats completed in August 2019

• Richmond Green, Beddington – 21 houses and completed in August 2019

Fellowes Road is already fully occupied, and tenants are now moving into the remaining newly-completed properties.

“We are determined to help our residents live well independently and to keep them safe,” says Cllr McCoy. “A settled, high quality, home improves well-being, the life chances of children, and residents’ job opportunities. Increasing the number of new homes means that more local families on our housing register will get a chance of an affordable new home.

“This year marks 100 years of social housing. The housing crisis is particularly severe in London and our new programme of council house building recaptures the ambition of 100 years ago and is a tangible example of what we mean by Ambitious for Sutton.”

Picture caption

Shirley Cawley, the first tenant of Sutton Council’s 57 new council flats in Alcester Road, Wallington, says, "It's lovely here. I'm really looking forward to moving in. Everything in the flat has such a lovely finish. I'm downsizing as I no longer need three bedrooms. I have two grandchildren and I can't wait for them to visit." She is pictured here (second from the right) next to Steve Tucker, Chief Executive of Sutton Housing Partnership (on her right) and the Mayor and Mayoress of Sutton.