Plans for cutting-edge sustainable and affordable new homes

The Mayor of London’s legally-binding housing targets mean Kingston has to build 10,000 new homes over the next decade and the Government planning proposal could see this double. 
 
While we are challenging these externally-imposed targets, we still want to provide sustainable new housing – especially more affordable homes. Many of our local young people can’t currently afford to rent or buy in the borough. There are 925 households living in temporary accommodation and 4068 waiting for a council home on our Housing Register. Many are families, some are key workers and this is a completely unacceptable way for them to live – without a secure permanent home.
 
We also need to provide homes that support an ageing population and those who access our social care services. So we need different types of homes to offer choice and accessibility to the right housing, in the right place.
 
Great Big Green Week is all about encouraging people to step up and make changes to help protect the planet from climate change. These potential new homes on the Cattle Market site would be one of many environmentally friendly initiatives where the council would be leading the way. 
 
Cllr Caroline Kerr, Leader of Kingston Council said: 

“The Cattle Market site offers an opportunity to build some of these much-needed homes. It makes sense environmentally. Not only is it a brownfield site - which helps to avoid development on green belt and Metropolitan Open Land, it is also close to public transport so people can easily live here car-free.
 

"In the face of the climate emergency, it is vital we make new homes as green as possible. As part of an innovative scheme with Thames Water we aim to heat homes on the Cattle Market site with almost zero carbon energy from the Hogsmill River. Equally the homes will be built using the most sustainable methods possible to meet our ambitious green goals” 

At the start of the year the council joined the Building Better partnership, a consortium of developers and housing associations, supported by the National Housing Federation, that are exploring and developing Modern Methods of Construction (MMC) to help provide sustainable, high quality homes with less impact on the environment. 

As the options for the Cattle Market site are developed the plans will be shared with our residents and communities for feedback. We will hold public events to discuss what sustainable town centre homes could look like. If a decision is made to proceed with developing the site, it is proposed to relocate the Monday Market to a nearby road to operate as an open-air street market. Market traders and other local businesses will be consulted about these plans as they are developed.