Barnet Homes has marked the completion of its 40 new homes programme by giving the latest tenants keys to move into newly finished council properties.

One of the families to sign their tenancy agreements had previously lived in temporary accommodation in Dunstable, so it’s a life-changing move to longer term accommodation in Barnet:

The delighted father of the family said: “It’s perfect for my family. We were living in temporary accommodation outside of London, but everything here is really nice, we’ll be happy. The children love being able to play outside in the garden.”

The properties, located in Mill Hill, are for people with high priority housing needs.

The 40 new homes programme is part of Barnet Council’s wider housing development ambitions to build over 700 new homes on council owned land, which includes 40 new affordable family sized houses and flats in the borough in 2016 and hundreds more homes over the next five years.

Barnet Homes’ Deputy Chief Executive Derek Rust said:

“I am delighted that we have completed the final homes as part of the 40 new homes programme, which marks another significant day in the evolution of Barnet Homes’ new build ambitions in partnership with Barnet Council.  This brings Barnet Homes to a fresh phase of our house-building programme – 320 new affordable homes are going to be built in the borough by March 2020.”

Councillor Richard Cornelius, Leader of Barnet Council, said: “As our borough expands so does the need for us to provide more housing. This milestone represents another fantastic step forward with our housing development and regeneration plans that will deliver 27,000 new homes over the next decade to support the housing needs of our growing population.”