The opposition group on Richmond Council has criticised the lack of development of affordable housing in a motion presented in a meeting held on 2 December.<\/p>\n
This claim was backed by data from the Greater London Assembly, which revealed only 40 affordable homes have been completed in Richmond since March 2022, and zero so far this year.<\/p>\n
The Green opposition has further claimed that the lack of development comes despite the council receiving several opportunities for such developments to take place, including at Twickenham Riverside, where a planning application for the site was recently rejected.\u00a0<\/p>\n
The opposition group has pushed for increased investment in \u2018genuinely affordable homes,\u2019 such as social rented housing, which provides residents in need with capped rent rates that are lower than market values.<\/p>\n
Opposition Leader Cllr Andr\u00e9e Frieze said: \u201cWhen I questioned officers to find out if the council was following up on the GLA\u2019s offer to create social rent homes on Twickenham Riverside from December 2024, the officer said: \u2018I think discussions are taking place\u2019.\u201d<\/p>\n
Two days after the annual Budget, Richmond Council published a\u00a0press release<\/a>\u00a0concerning the owners of properties worth more than \u00a32 million, which prompted opposition councillors to question where the council\u2019s broader priorities lie.\u00a0<\/p>\n In a motion urging the council to invest in more affordable homes, Richmond Council\u2019s opposition stated that the affordable housing supply has dwindled year on year since 2018, according to data from the Greater London Assembly.<\/p>\n A spokesperson from Richmond Council has further labelled the above figures utilised by the Green Opposition as \u2018a misrepresentation of what the agreed definition of genuinely affordable housing is,\u2019 citing the Greater London Assembly\u2019s\u00a0definition<\/a>\u00a0as their point of reference.<\/p>\n This definition encompasses social rent, London Affordable Rent, and intermediate housing options, including London Living Rent and Shared Ownership.\u00a0<\/p>\n Lead Member for Housing Cllr Chris Varley said: \u201cAs part of Richmond\u2019s Foundations for a Fairer Borough strategy, we\u2019re intensifying our efforts to make housing more accessible and genuinely affordable for our residents and key workers who keep our community running.\u201d<\/p>\n The Lead Member for Housing has further claimed that there are over 350 planned completions of genuinely affordable homes across the next three years.\u00a0<\/p>\n Opposition Leader Cllr Andr\u00e9e Frieze said in response: \u201cThis council needs to be doing more than merely \u2018thinking\u2019 about social rent homes, it needs to be providing them, to put an end to residents being placed in temporary accommodation, often outside the borough, costing the Council nearly \u00a310 million every year.\u201d<\/p>\n