Building works complete on stunning new council flat in Champion Hill

28 September 2022

Southwark Council has converted Whaddon House, an old nursery on Dog Kennel Hill Estate in Champion Hill, into a new, high-quality three-bedroom council flat. The flat can accommodate a five-person family and has three bedrooms, two WCs and a private garden with bike storage.

Southwark Council is tackling the housing crisis locally by building thousands of new council homes across the borough. The council met its target of starting construction or building 2,500 new council homes by May 2022, and has plans to start 1,000 more by 2026.

Whaddon House is one of many examples where the council has provided new homes by converting garages and disused areas on its estates, also known as ‘hidden homes’. Southwark Council uses a range of new and innovative ways to provide as many new homes as possible, including by building on existing estates, buying homes developed by others, and buying land where there is the potential to build new council homes.

Councillor Darren Merrill, Cabinet Member for Council Homes and Homelessness, said, “I’m really pleased to see this new property completed and ready for tenants to move in. It’s spacious, light and will provide a wonderful new home for a local family in housing need on this estate. It’s crucial we continue to use every opportunity at our disposal to build as many new council homes as we can for our residents”.

The new flat at Whaddon House will be offered to local tenants in housing need already living on Dog Kennel Hill Estate, so they can stay close to friends, family and the services they already use. Southwark currently has over 16,500 households on its housing waiting list, and over 3,400 households living in temporary accommodation, so building more council homes is crucially important.

Page last updated: 11 October 2022