Merton's mismanaged housing projects and temporary accommodation

LIBERAL DEMOCRATS ACCUSE MERTON COUNCIL OF FAILING TO DELIVER ON HOUSING 

• Liberal Democrats have accused Labour of “haemorrhaging taxpayers’ hard-earned cash” on mismanaged housing projects and temporary accommodation.
• ​​At Wednesday’s budget meeting, Liberal Democrat councillors exposed that the cost of temporary accommodation was £8 million in 2024/25 (a 700% overspend) but Labour have only budgeted £4.6m for 2025/26, despite increasing demand.
• Labour council bosses dramatically doubled the budget for 93 new ‘affordable homes’ from £29 million to £57 million.

Earlier this week, Merton Liberal Democrats accused the Labour Council of failing the borough on housing, overseeing soaring costs and a staggering lack of progress on building new homes. Lib Dem councillors highlighted the eye-watering cost of temporary accommodation and Labour’s failure to deliver on its housing commitments. 

Merton Council claims to be ‘making progress on the delivery of the first 93 genuinely affordable homes.’ In 2022, they promised to build 400 council homes by May 2026. Two years later, not a single home has been delivered, and the target has now been pushed back to 2027. Fewer than a quarter of the original number are planned in this budget, the council has no clear plan for delivering the remaining 307 homes.

As for the affordability of these homes, the build cost per house is £611,505. With the budget having almost doubled from £29 million to just under £57 million, concerns have grown about value for money. Moreover, these homes are not intended for temporary accommodation, meaning the crisis of residents being displaced to other boroughs remains unaddressed.

Meanwhile, the Liberal Democrats presented plans to build 100 modular homes, costing just £27,000 each. This would help reduce the soaring costs of temporary accommodation and provide much-needed relief to struggling families. However, Labour councillors voted against the proposal. 

Liberal Democrat Group Leader on Merton Council, Cllr Anthony Fairclough, said:

“Merton Council have repeatedly over-promised and under-delivered on housing. We’ve seen delay after delay, a scaling back of ambitions while budgets balloon.” 

“New housing cannot be a pipe-dream. Merton Lib Dems plan would see building to bring down the temporary accommodation bill - modular housing units are cheaper, quick to build and good quality.”