Housing progress: but where are the residents?

THERE’S NO hanging around in Tower Hamlets when it comes to delivering more social homes. The most recent step forward was a huge meeting of housing companies designed to move forward plans to build new homes.

But is something missing?

It wasn’t the developers. What happened was that “representatives from across the housing, development and construction sectors registered to attend London Borough of Tower Hamlets’ market engagement event” at the Town Hall. This includes big companies but also smaller ones which can all contribute to getting more homes built. The session explained to these companies how the Council will organise the work and award contracts.

It wasn’t the Town Hall people. Cllr Saied Ahmed, Cabinet Member for Homebuilding and Enhancing Council Homes and Neighbourhoods (another job title plucked from the list held by the Ministry of Silly Names), was there, as were officers who are leading this programme.

It was… the residents! There are real people who are going to live in these homes. There are real people who are going to live next door to new estates or buildings. It would nice to see residents at the heart of all the Council does: at this event, they were not even an afterthought.

Cllr Ahmed

Reflecting on the event, Councillor Saied Ahmed said:
“Tower Hamlets faces significant housing pressures, and the Mayor’s Accelerated Housing Programme is a once in a generation opportunity to accelerate the delivery of affordable and family-sized homes for local people.
“We’re looking for partners who can help us do more than build homes. We want to create jobs, support apprenticeships, develop local talent and ensure that the investment generated through this programme delivers long-term social and economic benefits for our residents. It was encouraging to see such strong interest from the market and we look forward to continuing those conversations as the programme progresses.”

Residents, Cllr Saied, would probably love to be your partners too.

●For more information about the Mayor’s housing programme and how your company could be involved, go to:
Housing Programme

●Read more about it:
Mayor Lutfur Rahman wins battle for affordable housing
Mayor tells Cabinet why housing is a priority