Promise of 1400 affordable homes by 2022

A year ago, at a packed out campaign rally, council leader Cllr Clare Coghill promised to build 1,200 social rent homes by 2022, and now has reissued her pledge.

At this year’s meeting, held on Monday night, Cllr Simon Miller, cabinet member for economic development and high streets, also agreed to work with campaigners from Waltham Forest Citizens to find two sites for community land trust homes in the next year.

The meeting also featured a drama performance from children and young people from the borough highlighting the impact of youth violence on their friends and peers.

A total of 235 community leaders from local mosques, churches, schools and colleges and members from Waltham Forest Citizens gathered at Greenleaf Baptist Church to see the councillors held to account for the promises they made a year ago as part of the local election campaign.

Violence and the housing crisis were issues top of local leaders’ agenda during the meeting.

A spokesman for Waltham Forest Citizens said: “Waltham Forest Council currently has one of the most radical house-building programs in London, but would like to expand it, by calling forward new sites for genuinely affordable homes.

“We’ve been encouraged to see the council’s goal to include Community Land Trusts amongst the genuinely affordable homes it is seeking to build and is looking forward to working with Cllr Miller to ensure that two sites are secured in the borough over the next year.”

Cllr Simon Miller said: "We know the private sector, as a minimum will bring forward a similar number of socially affordable homes.

"What we're trying to do is bring forward even greater numbers than that, but to do that we need land, we need access to land that we can build on affordably.

"What is a really big problem in London is that land has become unaffordable.

"If you are an organisation that has land, work with us. We will see what we can do to build genuinely affordable housing on that land."