Ten council homes for social rent are finished at Churchill Gardens in Pimlico, and eight of them have four bedrooms. They go to families on the rehousing waiting list.

Ten new council homes for social rent are finished at Churchill Gardens in Pimlico. Eight of them have four bedrooms.

The block is called Balmoral House, named after the former Balmoral Castle pub. The council announced its completion on Tuesday. It says the homes are ready for families on the rehousing waiting list, who can move into homes that suit them while staying close to their community.

What has been built

Balmoral House has:

  • eight four-bedroom homes
  • one three-bedroom home
  • one one-bedroom home
  • a new landscaped green space for residents
  • a new walking route from the estate to the Embankment and the river

It is the second and last phase of the council’s Darwin and Balmoral scheme, which is all affordable housing. The first phase, Darwin House, gave the estate 34 community supportive homes for older residents, with a communal lounge and guest rooms for visitors. Together the two blocks add 44 affordable homes. Wates Residential built both.

Residents marked the completion at an event on 3 November, the council said.

A kitchen in one of the new Balmoral House homes, with white units, a wood-effect worktop, an electric cooker and a green glass splashback
A kitchen in one of the new homes at Balmoral House. Photo: Westminster City Council

Why the four-bed homes matter

Large homes are the hardest thing to find on Westminster’s housing list. The council said last month that the 7,300 households on its social housing register often wait years, and sometimes decades, for a permanent home. Some larger families have waited more than 20 years, it said.

Eight homes are a small number against that list. But four-bedroom homes are the size that families wait longest for.

Cllr David Harvey, the cabinet member for housing and regeneration, said the homes mean “more families will be able to live in good-quality, affordable homes that meet their needs, while remaining part of the community they know and love”.

Paul Nicholls, managing director for London at Wates Residential, said: “Quality has been at the heart of this project, and the finished homes are a great example of what council housing can and should be.”

What it means for you

  • If you are waiting for a council home: the council says these homes go to families on the rehousing waiting list. Council homes in Westminster are let through the housing register; our page on how the Westminster housing register works explains the bands and how homes are offered.
  • If you live nearby: the new path through the estate gives a walking route down to the Embankment.

The council is also consulting on changes to how it allocates homes, including private rented offers for homeless households. That consultation runs until 9 December, and our story on the proposals sets them out.

Sources