Redbridge Council has been granted £20million by the Mayor of London to build more council homes.

Two weeks ago the Guardian reported that Mayor of London Sadiq Khan had announced funding for 25 other London boroughs, but Redbridge Council was not granted any money.

The borough had originally bid for £10million as part of the mayor’s social rent homes scheme.

At an event last week, when asked why the council had not been granted any funding, the mayor explained that there were more funding announcements to come, but could not give any more detail at the time.

Redbridge Council’s leader, Cllr Jas Athwal, had remained equally coy when questioned and simply stated “watch this space.”

Now it is confirmed that City Hall has allocated £20million to the borough to build more council houses, double the original bid’s amount.

Cllr Athwal said he was “delighted” to receive the confirmation.

He added: “I am immensely pleased for the residents in my borough who are desperate to have a secure roof over their heads. We have been working closely with the Mayor’s team on his council homebuilding programme.”

The council plans to put the investment into building 200 new homes “immediately”.

The borough has had a relatively small council house stock for a number of years.

Two weeks ago Sadiq Khan also confirmed Redbridge would be able to retain more of its right to buy receipts, once government legislation changes allowing local authorities to access these funds.

Redbridge’s Labour-led council has pledged to build 1000 affordable homes over the next four years.

Cllr Athwal said: “We have always had a real aspiration, that aspiration was not going to do with 100 homes. We talked with the Mayor and Deputy Mayor James Murray and located the sites for 200 homes.

"Last week I knew we were waiting for the ink to dry on the contract that the Mayor was signing and I could not jump the gun. And while we had to sit there feeling disappointed for a week, I knew it was coming.

"We have pledged to build 1000 homes and now we are almost at 500 homes just six months into this administration, that is a fantastic place to be."

The leader explained the council had identified a "whole host of sites" for the new homes in its local plan, including the Seven Kings Lorry Park and Clements Road in Ilford.

He added: "It was worth the wait. So while everyone else was happy a week ago, we are happier now."

Mayor of London Sadiq Khan said: “London’s housing crisis has been decades in the making – but we are showing what a difference councils can make by working closely with ambitious leaders like Jas.

“The funding announced today will help Redbridge build a new generation of council homes, and if Government gave us the money and powers we need, we could go much further still.”