Kensington and Chelsea Councillor Questions £1M Cost Per New Home
A Kensington and Chelsea councillor has raised concerns about the cost-effectiveness of the council's New Homes Programme, particularly the Silchester Arches scheme, where the cost per unit is estimated to be £1 million. The council has stated that the higher specifications, quality and fire safety standards required for council housing, in part stemming from commitments made after the Grenfell Tower fire, contribute to the increased cost, compared to private developments.
At a meeting of the Housing & Communities Select Committee on Wednesday 2 July 2025, Councillor Nikki, whose last name is not known, questioned whether the properties would be worth the million pounds per unit cost if sold on the open market. She suggested that the council should consider converting empty hotels into social housing instead of building new homes at such high costs. The council is also exploring other avenues to address the social housing shortage, including acquiring existing properties for social rent through the Grenfell housing programme and making efficient use of existing housing stock by encouraging under-occupying households to downsize.
Christine, whose last name is not known, explained that the Silchester Arches scheme was a small project on a complex site, and had faced issues with the contractor and materials. She acknowledged that there were lessons to be learned from the project, and that the council needed to understand what went wrong to prevent similar issues in the future. These issues included legal proceedings with the contractor and problems with some of the materials used.
Dan Kane added that the council was learning on the job during the early stages of the New Homes Programme, and may have underestimated costs at the time decisions were made.
Councillor Linda Wade questioned the competence of the department in initiating new builds, and why the project proceeded despite other parties not building on the site with the same specification.
Dan Hawthorn, Executive Director, Housing & Social Investment, said that the new homes programme remains a huge parity for the administration, but not at any cost.