Havering Council Handed £29M to Build 140 new Flats in Harold Hill.

The cash-strapped Havering Council will be handed £29.9million to build almost 140 new homes, writes local democracy reporter Sebastian Mann.

The grant, part of a Greater London Authority (GLA) scheme, will fund the construction of 136 houses in Chippenham Road in Harold Hill.

The estate – comprising 138 homes in total – will be made up of 55 one-bedroom flats, 61 two-bedrooms, 20 three-bedrooms, and two four-bedrooms.

Two of the homes will be paid for with separate funds.

The development is part of a wider programme to build 3,500 new houses in Havering, which the council is desperate to complete as it grapples with an extraordinary housing shortage in the borough.

The homes are classed as ‘affordable housing,’ aimed at lower-income residents and families.

More than half will be available for social rent and a further 59 for London Living Rent, a shared ownership scheme for middle-income workers who are saving up to buy property outright.

Council leader Ray Morgon, with the Havering Residents Association, previously said: “The transformation of Chippenham Road is a key part of our Harold Hill masterplan, ensuring regeneration that benefits Havering residents, businesses and future generations.”

In a recent report, the council says it could not afford to build the new homes – part of a joint venture with homebuilder Wates Residential – without the extra funding.

Chippenham Road is one of 12 sites across Havering being developed and ‘regenerated’. Others include Romford’s town centre, as well as estates in Farnham and Hilldene.

Proposals for the area were approved in September 2024, and vacant buildings on the site were demolished over the summer.

The scheme was praised by Conservative councillor David Taylor, a member of the opposition.

He said: “It is not often that I praise the GLA, but this is the right thing to do and will have a positive impact on our borough. I am grateful to the last Conservative government for providing this funding.

“We often hear complaints of Romford and Havering being overdeveloped, which ignores that we have hundreds of vulnerable homeless families and an associated housing bill of close to £15m a year. Schemes like this are what we need to get people into a warm and stable home and to drive down costs for the borough.”

Plans were initially put forward for 155 homes, but this figure was lowered due to rising costs.

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