A CGI rendering of the modular homes. Credit: via Havering Council
(Written by Local Democracy Reporter, Sebastian Mann)
The modular homes, suitable for families, will be installed on land off Waterloo Road and Queen Street.
The council hopes it will ease housing pressures in the borough, which are causing a significant strain on the town hall’s finances.
In a statement issued after last night’s cabinet meeting (22nd January), the cabinet member for housing need Natasha Summers said Havering faced a “housing crisis”.
She said the 18 new units would provide “good quality temporary homes for the families and individuals who need them most”.
Residents in the borough who are at risk of homelessness are owed a duty by the council to be housed.
Due to a borough-wide shortage of homes – a common problem for councils across London – families are often kept in hotels or bed-and-breakfast style accommodation.
These nightly schemes are very costly for the council, which ended up overspending on housing by £6.1million last year. These pressures are expected to worsen as costs increase, and the town hall is facing a £75m shortfall for the coming year.
Cllr Summers continued: “Given the shortage of social housing and the council’s financial challenges, establishing new cost-effective temporary housing solutions is a priority.”
Each unit will cost £200,000 – at a total cost of £3.6million – though they can be relocated up to five times, the council says. They can also be stacked up to three storeys high.
Conservative councillor and scrutiny committee chair David Taylor said the places committee had been assured the homes would be of “high quality,” and that Havering would “seek best value for money” when purchasing them.
He said: “Havering has also made it clear that these will not be basic ‘container’ homes as seen elsewhere in the country, but high-quality and modern homes with garden space.
“No one wants to see families living in temporary accommodation. These units will be a big step forward in ensuring we can move families out of [bed-and-breakfast style temporary accommodation] and into warm, dry homes.”
The site was initially cleared for the Waterloo Estate, a planned estate of 1,380 new homes.
However, Havering councillors said last week that work was not expected to begin for another “five to seven” years. The project was initially paused in 2023.
Havering Council is also looking at converting Chesham House, a former retail building, into 55 self-contained units. Concerns have been raised by councillors that the accommodation could be “substandard”.
The town hall will continue to purchase standard homes in the borough to boost its housing stock, councillors said.
