Ealing Council has struck a deal to purchase 180 new homes at the Green Quarter development in Southall from Berkeley Homes.
The homes – consisting of one, two and three-bedroom properties – are currently under construction and are scheduled to be completed and let to council tenants by early autumn 2026. The bulk acquisition is a shift in strategy for the council, which is responding to a sharp downturn in new council housebuilding across London.
Ealing Council said of the 180 new homes – 77 are one-bedroom, 99 are two-bedroom and 4 are three-bedroom. The cost to buy the 180 homes is £51.36 million.
Each month, the council says it provides emergency accommodation for approximately 3,000 families and has a waiting list nearing 8,000 households for long-term council homes.
Ealing Council leader, Councillor Peter Mason, said: “This is a bold and necessary step to ensure that local people have access to homes they can truly afford. Now, almost 200 local families will be able to start new lives in safe, modern homes by the end of next year. We’re proud to be leading the way in tackling the housing crisis head-on.”
Councillor Shital Manro, the council’s cabinet member for good growth and new homes, added: “This deal shows what’s possible when Ealing Council acts decisively on one of its key priorities and respond quickly to changing market conditions. It’s a fantastic outcome for some of the borough’s most vulnerable residents and goes a small way to addressing the housing crisis we are facing in the borough.”
Of the 180 homes, 96 will be available at social rent and the remaining 84 at London Living Rent – both set below market rates. Council rents are on average less than a quarter of local private sector rents.
The deal is backed by funding from the Greater London Authority’s Affordable Homes Programme 2021–2026 and council borrowing. It supports Ealing’s wider ambition, outlined in its 2022–2026 Council Plan, to deliver thousands of genuinely affordable homes by April 2026.
Marcus Blake, managing director of Berkeley St George said: “Berkeley Homes is committed to working with Ealing Council to help meet the housing needs of the borough. When completed, The Green Quarter will deliver some 2,600 affordable homes as well as over £170m in financial and non-financial contributions for the benefit of Southall and the wider area.”
EALING.NEWS has asked Ealing Council how much it has cost to acquire the 180 homes.
