London councils move ahead with building new apartments – average cost for those built in central London more than a million pounds and will take 18 years to build
Councils will be buying these “low cost “affordable housing” homes to house over a million legal and illegal immigrants!.
PETER HALLIGAN
From here:
Second part of 4,000-home West London development given green light – one hurdle remains
Summary details:
London’s iconic Earls Court exhibition center is being demolished to make way for a £10 billion development that will be completed in 2043.
The intention is to build 4,000 new homes – plus ancillary facilities.
On the face of it 10 billion pounds for 4,000 homes over 18 years looks outrageous– an average of 2.5 million pounds per home, taking EIGHTEN YEARS to build!!!
It doesn’t appear that any of the new homes could be described as “low cost affordable housing”.
“A major development that will see 4,000 homes built alongside leisure facilities including a cinema and community centre in West London has been given the green light by a second local council.
Kensington and Chelsea Council approved its section of the Earl’s Court development at a Planning Committee meeting on Tuesday, December 16. “
“Kensington and Chelsea’s approval comes after neighbouring Hammersmith and Fulham had already approved the section of the development that falls within its boundaries.”
“The proposal is set to deliver 1,400 homes for Kensington and Chelsea, 95,000sqm of office floorspace, and other uses including new cultural venues and green spaces. It also includes a nursery and food and drink units in the first phase.
“Around 2,500 homes are set to be built in Hammersmith and Fulham, which approved its section of the £10bn scheme last month. The current applications, filed separately in each council, were done on behalf of the ECDC, a joint venture between Delancey, APG and Places for London, Transport for London’s (TfL) property arm.
“The development’s Chief Executive, Rob Heasman, said the company engaged with the community from the outset. He said 35 per cent of homes would be affordable and the scheme would bring in 12,000 jobs. Another employee said: “These buildings will be constructed with care, be safe and secure and provide homes to people.”
The scheme is to be delivered in phases with the intention it will be completed by early 2043.
Remember my suggestion that 1,000 multiple XL towers will need to be built to address the UK’s 1 million home housing shortage? (each block of 40 floors would have 25 apartments housing 3 people – either build 1,000 tower blocks or build 30 new cities of 100,000 people each).
From Brave AI:
“The tallest building in the Earls Court redevelopment project is a 42-storey residential tower designed by Sheppard Robson, which will stand as a prominent landmark on London’s skyline. This tower, part of the first phase of the development, will include 290 homes, a gym, and workspace facilities. While some sources mention a 45-storey tower (WB04) as part of the masterplan, the 42-storey building is the one most consistently referenced in recent planning submissions and approvals. The project’s tallest structure is expected to be approximately 109 meters in height.”
Let’s hope the water/gas/internet/ electricity/sewage systems and the lifts are “robust” and the building/cladding materials are fireproof!
Developments are Not just happening in central London.
From the same MSN article:
“Guildford’s ‘once-in-a-generation’ town redevelopment continues as five large-scale projects underway or completed”
1. North Street brought ‘back to life’
“The town’s second most iconic street, just behind it’s close neighbour, the High Street has been undergoing a major redevelopment since November 2024, which many will notice if they visit the area.
2. St Mary’s Wharf replaces Debenhams
3. Guildford Train Station loses a car park
“Work began on Guildford train station’s redevelopment, spearheaded by developers Solum, back in January 2021. This marked the ‘next stage’ of the development according to GBC, with 179 homes set to be constructed, as part of the project’s goal of 400.”
“When the redevelopment was first confirmed in 2019, developer Solum estimated that the £200m project would be completed by 2025. An amended completion estimate for the project is yet to be provided by Solum.
200 million pounds for 179 homes works out at £1,117,00 per home! Again not exactly low cost affordable housing!
4. Guildford Road Car Park to become homes
“The car park, which the council describe as ‘underutilised’, is based not far from Guildford train station alongside the University of Surrey Stag Hill Campus, and may soon become nearly 250-homes as part of a £86 million project.
250 homes for £86 million? An average cost of £344,000 – the cost is more like it – however, shouldn’t “low cost affordable homes” cost no more than £250,000?
5. . Guildford Plaza delivers 301 homes
“Apartments range from £1,299 per month for a signature, 20m² studio, up to a luxury, 41m² studio at £2,095 per month.
£2,100 a month for a “luxury” studio!!! ( a studio is a zero bedroom flat)
I animated a cost of building a million 2-bed apartments for three people, at around £250,000 each and around £400,000 for a (2-bedoom?) house for three people.
A million apartments could cost 250 (a quarter of a trillion) billion pounds– a million homes could cost 400 billion pounds.
Looks like – adjusting for London and major city pricing conditions, because of the building of new homes in cities, those estimates are out by a large factor – maybe as much three times – lifting th national costs for the XL tower block apartment solution to closer to a TRILLION POUNDS – if the brown field sites In inner cities are developed.
Of course, these are massively conservative estimates – imagine how inflation from supply, materials and labour shortages (lots of polish builders needed!”) will over the next 18 years will lead to at least a doubling of cost estimates for development projects such as the one at Earl’s Court.
Of course no-one will be accountable for the building of these (soon to be) vertical slums!
Onwards!!!
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This article (London councils move ahead with building new apartments – average cost for those built in central London more than a million pounds and will take 18 years to build) was created and published by Peter Halligan and is republished here under “Fair Use”
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