Plans to turn West Ham’s historic football ground into more than 800 homes have been attacked for failing to include any social housing.
After more than 100 years at the Boleyn Ground, known as Upton Park, West Ham will move to the Olympic Stadium in the summer of next year.
The club sold the ground to Galliard Homes, which has lodged plans to replace it with a “village” of 838 homes in blocks up to 15 storeys high.
Just 51 units — six per cent — will be “affordable”, to be sold at a reduced price under a shared ownership scheme, but there is no mention of social housing in the application.
Newham council guidelines state that up to half of new developments should be made up of affordable and social housing and Sir Robin Wales, the Labour mayor of Newham, said: “The developers need to drastically rethink this ridiculous offer.”
Community groups have lodged official objections over the lack of social housing and The East London Communities Organisation, which includes religious leaders and headteachers, attacked the “meagre provision for affordable housing”.
The Rev Bruce Stokes, minister at Woodgrange Baptist Church, said: “It is unacceptable that the application by Galliard Homes does not offer any social housing and the paltry offer of 51 shared ownership homes means that there will be no genuinely affordable housing for local people.”
Tamsin Omond, the local Green Party parliamentary candidate, said: “It is the best offer that Newham council could be bothered to get from the same property developer that was proud to advertise its Capital Towers in Stratford as ‘fully private’, with ‘no social housing’.”
Two-bedroom apartments at Capital Towers start at £474,000.
Donagh O’Sullivan, managing director of Galliard Homes, said no final decision had been taken on the “split of housing provision”.
He said “the inclusion of social housing is certainly not ruled out”. The Mayor of London’s planning team is scrutinising the proposals before a council decision.
Karren Brady, West Ham vice-chairman, said Galliard Homes was chosen “because they are a local London developer and employer with origins in east London”.
West Ham declined to comment on the lack of social housing.
