Labour councillors have criticised Bexley Council's approach to housing and green space, accusing the administration of a lack of ambition and partisan digs in its policies.

During a heated council meeting on Wednesday, 4 November 2026, the Labour group moved a motion calling for a significant increase in housing starts, with a focus on affordable housing and council properties.

Councillor Chris Ball, Shadow Cabinet Member for Housing, Neighbourhoods & Climate Change, stated that the original motion was designed to be non-partisan and supportive, aiming for the council to publicly commit to increasing housing in Bexley in all its forms.

Councillor Chris Ball's motion proposed to 'change the BexleyCo business plan' with the aim of increasing housing starts, particularly affordable and council properties. Councillor Ball suggested that BexleyCo should consider building and renting, rather than simply operating as a building firm that serves the centre of the market. He further elaborated on potential reforms, stating, It's about what we can do to make the maximum number of homes, including social homes, with the widest possible kind of tenure for people as well. He also suggested factoring in the value of social housing as a kind of tangible cost in the process, that actually, if we offer a plot of land at a price that makes the housing development impossible, then actually there's no social value and no commercial value to that at all, and it's about that flexibility that we might have there.

However, an amendment proposed by the Conservative group, which was ultimately carried, broadened the scope of the motion. Councillor Cameron Smith, Deputy Leader of the Council and Cabinet Member for Economic Growth & Infrastructure, argued that the original motion focused too narrowly on BexleyCo and that the amendment would incorporate other necessary actions and calls for change.

An amendment to a motion on housing was carried after a debate. Councillor Chris Ball spoke against the amendment. Councillor Chris Ball argued that the amendment 'pass[ed] the blame on to somebody else' and was overly cautious.

In response, Councillor David Leaf, Leader of the Council, welcomed the contributions to the debate, acknowledging that housing and tackling the housing crisis has been a long-standing issue. He defended BexleyCo's ambition on affordable housing and highlighted the challenges of market conditions, regulations, and the cumulative effect of red tape on housing development costs. The council leader explained, There is a big challenge around housing delivery in the country, full stop... The challenge relates to market conditions. It relates to affordability. It relates to viability. It relates to – there's a lot of regulations on developers... Each of those individual regulations have been put in for quite understandable and the right reasons... but the cumulative effect of all that red tape adds literally tens of thousands, if not hundreds of thousands, to the bill cost of individual dwellings.

Councillor Michael Gillespie, newly elected for Barnhurst, spoke in favour of the corporate plan, Delivering for Bexley, challenging Labour's claims about housing and highlighting Bexley's better record compared to inner London boroughs. He stated, We have a far better record in housing than they have across much of inner London. As the leader said earlier, 1,500 homes, housing waiting list in Bexley. But in Hackney, it was 38,000 and a waiting list time of over three years compared to our 200 days.

Councillor Oscar Harrison also spoke about affordability, stating that the only way to improve it is by improving supply. He praised Bexley's record on house building compared to other London boroughs and welcomed the plan to deal with abandoned or derelict buildings and return them to housing use.

Councillor Fuston spoke about 'unique factors in Bexley... that are making the housing crisis worse'. A councillor stated, Bexley's got the lowest prices for homes, which has positives and negative effects. We have much improved public transport in Bexley, but more is needed...

A speaker at the council meeting disagreed with the leader regarding the track record on social housing. And I've got the same figures as him. And actually, the level of social housing being provided is dropping, not increasing. The peak was back in 2023, and we're down to 40 in the last year."

The 'corporate plan' mentioned by Councillors Gillespie and Harrison is Delivering for Bexley, which sets out strategic priorities for the next four years under four themes: prevention, people, place, and prosperity. The council's new corporate plan, 'Delivering for Bexley', integrates the administration's manifesto commitments.