Two flagship council developments have been halted as they are no longer affordable to build.

Windmill Court and Kilburn Square have been put on ice, affecting the construction of 200 new homes out of a total of 701 in receipt of funding.

Building works needed to start by March 31 to secure money awarded by the Greater London Authority (GLA).

Brent Council won a grant in excess of £100m from the Mayor of London’s affordable housing programme in 2021.

However, work did not start in time and the council has announced a pause on the developments due to them not being “financially viable” in the current economic climate. Is it possible that some of the £100m will not be given to the council, as a result. 

Brent & Kilburn Times: Protesters pictured last year as they were against plans to build a Block C on green space in Kilburn Square Protesters pictured last year as they were against plans to build a Block C on green space in Kilburn Square (Image: Bill Davis)

A spokesperson for the council said: “It is with great regret that Brent Council has made the difficult decision to pause some of its new developments due to them currently not being financially viable. The rising cost of living, which has affected us all individually, has also driven up costs for building materials and labour.

“As well as the price hikes on everyday items, increased inflation has stretched development costs. As a result, it is now more expensive to build and, because of this, some of our existing housing projects are no longer affordable at the present time.”  

They added: “We have undertaken an extensive financial review of all schemes within our New Council Homes Programme to assess their financial viability going forward. Unfortunately, Windmill Court cannot progress under the current economic climate, and Kilburn Square is now on hold until market conditions improve.”

One of the council’s key pledges was to increase the supply of affordable homes, as well adding to its stock of council houses to reduce the huge waiting list. There are currently 26,113 residents in line for a council house in the borough.

The council has said it will continue the development of the schemes that “remain viable”.

Cabinet Member for Housing, Homelessness and Renters’ Security, Cllr Promise Knight, said: “Despite certain schemes being placed on hold, we are confident that we will deliver on our commitment to deliver 5,000 affordable homes across the borough.

"This will include 1,700 new council homes to meet our residents’ housing needs.”

The Mayor of London’s office was approached for comment but did not respond ahead of publication.