The launch was the point; the money was not for here.
Four hundred and fifty-two homes stand on Kidbrooke Park Road, on the eastern side of the heath from Blackheath Village, and every one of them is social housing. Greenwich council calls it the largest scheme of its kind in London, and on 26 August the government borrowed it for an afternoon.
Angela Rayner, the Housing Secretary, came with the Mayor of London, Sadiq Khan, his deputy for housing Tom Copley and the MPs Matthew Pennycook and Clive Efford, hosted by councillors Jackie Smith and Tom Creswell. They were there to launch the first wave of the £39bn Social and Affordable Homes Programme, a ten-year national effort running to 2035-36.
The launch was the point; the money was not for here. The first wave announced the day before, close to £10bn, supports more than 70,000 social and affordable homes across England outside London. The part of the programme Greenwich can reach is a £46m pot, spread over three years, to help councils build the teams that build houses — a national fund, with no sum named for this borough in the government's announcement.
It is easy to see why ministers wanted the backdrop. The Kidbrooke development is carbon-neutral, with its own energy centre, part-funded by City Hall. More than a quarter of the homes have three bedrooms and one in ten is designed for a wheelchair user. It has taken a Housing Design Award and an Inside Housing development award, and been shortlisted by RIBA.
For a family waiting on Greenwich's housing register, the number that matters is not 39 billion. It is 970: the council homes the borough's Greenwich Builds programme has promised and not yet finished, having completed 780 of 1,750. The question for the autumn is whether the borough turns an afternoon of national attention into a bid for that capacity money, and how quickly the next hundred sets of keys are handed over.
- The £39bn Social and Affordable Homes Programme runs 2026-27 to 2035-36
- First funding wave of almost £10bn announced 25 August 2026, supporting 70,000+ homes across England outside London
- Launch event held at Kidbrooke Park Road on 26 August 2026
- Attendees included Housing Secretary Angela Rayner, Mayor Sadiq Khan, Deputy Mayor Tom Copley, MPs Matthew Pennycook and Clive Efford
- Kidbrooke Park Road is 452 homes, 100% social housing, described as the largest such scheme in London
- Scheme is carbon-neutral with its own energy centre; 26% three-bed homes, 10% wheelchair-designed
- No Greenwich-specific funding allocation was confirmed alongside the visit
- Greenwich Builds has completed 780 of a planned 1,750 new council homes
Every factual claim in this story is linked to the evidence behind it. Where the newsroom has added judgement or framing, it is listed separately. Sources accessed 11 September 2026.
- The Social and Affordable Homes Programme and the reinvigoration of council housebuilding (government)
- Historic council housebuilding comeback to help families into secure homes (government)
- Government announces landmark council housebuilding programme at award-winning Kidbrooke (council)
Claim by claim (7 facts, 9 editorial judgements)
- The Social and Affordable Homes Programme is a £39 billion, ten-year capital programme running from 2026-27 to 2035-36 — council, 2026-08-25
- A first funding wave of almost £10 billion was announced on 25 August 2026, supporting delivery of more than 70,000 (one figure: 73,600) social and affordable homes across England outside London — other, 2026-08-25“Nearly £10 billion allocated... 73,600 homes supported across England (outside London)... £46 million 'Capacity to Build' funding over three years”
- A launch event was held at Kidbrooke Park Road on Wednesday 26 August 2026, attended by Housing Secretary Angela Rayner, Mayor of London Sadiq Khan, Deputy Mayor for Housing Tom Copley, MP Matthew Pennycook and MP Clive Efford, hosted by Councillors Jackie Smith and Tom Creswell — council, 2026-08-26“Senior government ministers joined the Mayor and Deputy Mayor of London at Kidbrooke Park Road... Wednesday 26 August 2026”
- Kidbrooke Park Road is a 452-home development, wholly social housing, described by the council as the largest 100% social housing scheme in London, part-funded by the Greater London Authority, carbon-neutral with its own energy centre, with 26% three-bedroom homes and 10% wheelchair-designed units — council, 2026-08-26
- Kidbrooke Park Road has won an Inside Housing Development Award (Best Affordable Housing Development over £20m) and a Housing Design Award, and was shortlisted for a RIBA award — council, 2026-08-26
- Greenwich Builds, the council's own housebuilding programme, has completed 780 of a planned 1,750 new council homes for people on the housing register — council, 2026-08-26“780 of 1,750 new homes built so far for local people on the housing register”
- The £39bn programme includes £46 million nationally over three years to help councils build capacity, a national fund rather than money earmarked for Greenwich specifically — other, 2026-08-25
- Judgement: No Greenwich- or Kidbrooke-specific funding allocation is stated in the national government press release; the borough was the event venue rather than a named recipient of a distinct funding tranche
- Judgement: Greenwich council calls it the largest scheme of its kind in London, and on 26 August the government borrowed it for an afternoon.
- Judgement: The launch was the point; the money was not for here.
- Judgement: It is easy to see why ministers wanted the backdrop.
- Judgement: For a family waiting on Greenwich's housing register, the number that matters is not 39 billion.
- Judgement: The question for the autumn is whether the borough turns an afternoon of national attention into a bid for that capacity money, and how quickly the next hundred sets of keys are handed over.
- Judgement: Describing Kidbrooke Park Road as lying on the eastern side of the heath from Blackheath Village.
- Judgement: Characterising the £46m capacity fund as money to help councils build the teams that build houses.
- Judgement: Framing the development as a showpiece chosen as a backdrop rather than a recipient of the announced funding.
