Mayor of Tower Hamlets Officially Opens 17 New Council Homes Built by Bouygues UK

A local family this week (Monday 31 July) welcomed the Mayor of Tower Hamlets, Bouygues UK and the London Borough of Tower Hamlets to look around their newly completed council home in Limehouse.

Chris Braithwaite House, formerly referred to as Locksley D, is the fourth new-build affordable housing development that Bouygues UK has delivered within Tower Hamlets, with the previous three sites, Locksley A, Jubilee Street and Baroness Road, completed and occupied. Through these four developments, Bouygues UK has helped provide a total of 94 homes for Tower Hamlets residents.

Kawsar Ahmad and his family have been living in Chris Braithwaite House for a few weeks now having moved from an overcrowded flat in Shadwell.

Mr Ahmad said: “It’s a very nice property. We didn’t view before accepting and it is more than met our expectations. It’s nice living by the water and the views are very good. We have more space, enough so we can live more comfortably. Before we had just 2 bedrooms and were very overcrowded. It was difficult for my children to study, but now they have the space to do so.”

The building was officially opened by Mayor Lutfur Rahman, Cllr Kabir Ahmed, Cabinet Member for Regeneration, Inclusive Development and Housebuilding, Steve Halsey, CEO of Tower Hamlets Council, Rob Bradley, CEO, and David Fallows, Operation Director, both of lead contractor Bouygues UK, and Hillary Howie, Head of Repairs at Tower Hamlets Homes, as well as project managers and council officers.

Rob Bradley, CEO of Bouygues UK added, “It was fantastic to join Mayor Lutfur Rahman and our partners from the London Borough of Tower Hamlets to officially open these newly completed, high-quality homes and hear first-hand the positive impact on the residents. Bouygues UK is proud to be supporting the Mayor’s mission to deliver more affordable and social housing in the borough, as well as providing employment, apprenticeships and work experience opportunities for the local people.“

Mayor Lutfur Rahman said: “It was an absolute pleasure to meet Mr Ahmad and his family and for him to show me around his new home. I was impressed with the quality, the natural light in the rooms, and the views are fantastic.

“Building new homes and helping overcrowded families in Tower Hamlets is our mission. We have made a strong commitment to delivering 4,000 new social homes in four years, and together with our partners, are focused on achieving this target to help the people of this borough have decent, affordable homes.”

Cllr Kabir Ahmed, said: “Chris Braithwaite House is one of a number of new homes that this council is building, which will be completed and ready for residents to move in this year. We know there is a serious problem of overcrowding in the borough and are working hard to tackle this by building new homes and, where we can, adapting existing homes to make better use of the space.”

Chris Braithwaite House ranges from five to eight storeys. It comprises 17 one, two, three, and four-bedroom flats for social rent. Work started on site in October 2020 and involved improvements to the wider Locksley Estate, including a new children’s play area, improved lighting and new trees and planting.