Affordable homes with prices linked to average local earnings could be built in Ilford town centre.

The Salvation Army, along with campaign group Redbridge Citizens, are pushing for Redbridge Council to deliver Community Land Trust (CLT) homes as part of a new development at 17-23 Clements Road.

CLT homes are seen as “genuinely affordable” as their cost is calculated by taking average earnings in the nearby area into account.

In future, anyone selling on a CLT home would have to sell it at a price in line with average incomes in the area at the time. This keeps the housing stock affordable in the longer term.

Earlier this year, council leader Cllr Jas Athwal made a public commitment to deliver 250 CLT homes across the borough.

Now, the Salvation Army and Redbridge Citizens want the council to ensure CLTs are in the mix of housing due to be built on the Clements Road site, where the former Housing Advice Centre stood.

Captain John Clifton, of Ilford’s Salvation Army Corps, said: “The lack of affordable homes for rent and ownership in Ilford is tearing apart our community.

“Our children are growing up without the prospect of being able to settle here in the future, and rents are increasing all the time. The pressures on residents are growing all the time.”

Mr Clifton added that CLT homes are about providing people with a home, not just an asset.

The exact involvement of the council in the running of the CLT homes is yet to be finalised, but the London company that champions CLTs (London CLT) would hope to buy up the homes to sell on/rent out at the affordable prices.

The Salvation Army is due to hold a consultation event on its proposals for CLTs on the site at The Salvation Army, 15 Clements Road, Ilford on Thursday, August 15 from 6pm to 7.45pm.

For more information, please email John Clifton on john.clifton@salvationarmy.org.uk.