Major milestone for Church Street Residents
Major milestone reached as Church Street residents vote yes to regeneration plans
The positive result follows Westminster City Council’s decision to hold a resident ballot to decide the future of the area. 73% of voting residents in neighbourhoods known as sites A, B and C voted in favour of the proposals for the regeneration.
The plans will transform three key sites in the Church Street neighbourhood, which will re-provide all existing 228 council homes and deliver at least 156 new council homes at social rent levels, create new jobs and training opportunities as well as new shops and community facilities.
With a voter turnout of 56% which includes residents who have moved off the estate but have the ‘right to return’, a positive result means the council is now able to move forward with plans to:
- Build new high quality, affordable homes by unlocking funding from the Greater London Authority
- Create new pedestrianised routes and high quality green public spaces
- Create new community facilities, play spaces and a new, enhanced library.
The Church Street Regeneration Programme will ensure the re-provision of all existing council homes at social rent levels, and truly affordable homes will make up over 50% of the homes delivered in the scheme.
By voting in favour of the scheme, the council can now bid for Greater London Authority funding which will enable the delivery of more truly affordable homes.
Cllr Noble, Cabinet Member for Climate Action, Regeneration and Renters at Westminster City Council said:
“We’re pleased that the majority of residents voted in favour of our Church Street proposals and we’re committed to working with them on co-designing the scheme’s B & C sites. We’re serious about giving local communities more say on the future of their area and we’re glad residents feel the same.
“This positive result will allow us to build even more social and lower rent homes needed for families in our city so we can create a fairer Westminster for everyone.”
The council launched its new Fairer Westminster strategy in October 2022, which sets out how the council will work with the local community to support them and tackle inequality. The introduction of resident ballots aims to deliver more Council homes for social rent and to build a fairer city for our residents to live in. As part of the new Fairer Westminster strategy, the target is for approximately 70% of affordable homes on council-owned developments to be Council homes for social rent.
- The Church Street regeneration programme will see brand new council homes delivered for social rent and affordable rent, and new homes for sale.
- The council is also holding a resident ballot for the Ebury Bridge regeneration scheme. The ballot will open on 23rd January 2023 and run for three weeks to give residents an opportunity to have their say.
- Across the council’s two major regeneration schemes, the GLA funding could enable the delivery of over 300 additional new council homes for social rent (at least 150 at Church Street and 171 at Ebury Bridge)
- The council announced its commitment to increase the number of affordable homes in Westminster in October last year. Subject to confirming the GLA funding for both Ebury and Church Street, the additional affordable homes at Church Street will take the total to at least 1,519 new council homes for social rent.
