The first council homes to be built for a generation in the borough of Harrow are ready for some of the 1,200 people on the social housing waiting list.

Harrow Council will have built 80 new homes in the next 18 months in a bid to ease the demand for affordable housing - which is currently greater than supply.

The first completed homes at Dunnock Drive and Sunflower Mews, in Stanmore , have been built on two disused garage sites, which attracted anti-social behaviour and were often used to store untaxed cars by a local scrap metal dealer.

A family of seven will be one of the first to pick up the keys to their new homes on Friday (September 15).

Mr Fuad Basharaheel, his wife, her parents inluding her disabled mother and their three children lived in overcrowded conditions in South Harrow , paying £1,500 a month rent, for six years before they were offered their new, fully accessible home.

He told getwestlondon : "Before we were in private accommodation in South Harrow with one toilet and a small bath, [my wife's mother] struggled to get in and out because she's in a wheelchair and suffers from arthritus.

"It means a lot to especially for the mother as she now has easy access to the bathroom. Now she doesn't have to struggle with the stairs."

The new homes have all been built to ‘Living Standard’ with wider doorways, lower light switches, a downstairs shower room and space to install a lift if needed.

Sunflower Mews features a bedroom and wet room with toilet downstairs – making the homes accessible for elderly residents or those with disabilities.

The new homes are energy efficient, featuring solar panels (at Sunflower Mews); thermally efficient windows, doors and walls; and SMART meters that measure gas and electricity use – all of which will reduce fuel costs for new residents.

Sunflower Mews will also feature a play area to the front of the homes for the local community to enjoy.

Harrow has one of the lowest levels of affordable housing in London – just 10,000 homes (5,000 council and 5,000 social) - with many families struggling to find a place they call home.

"It means a lot" Fuad Basharaheel, his wife Sabah Salam and her mother Halima Omar, will be some of the first to move in

Launching the homes on Thursday (September 14), leader of Harrow Council Cllr Sachin Shah said: "There is a housing crisis in London and in this country. Harrow is no different.

"So having new council housing that allow families to move in, will free up other properties for other families to move in.

"I'm incredibly proud to be the leader of a council that is building council properties - it is exactly what councils should be doing."

As of June this year, more than 1,200 Harrow families were on the waiting list for social housing and 966 families were living in temporary accommodation.

To create this new batch of homes, Harrow Council’s housing department worked with developers Indecon Ltd and Martin Arnold provided professional Chartered Surveyors and Construction Consultants. MEPK architects and PRP architects provided the designs for the six new homes.

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