Lewisham Council will build 384 new council homes, after it was given £37.7m worth of funding from London Mayor Sadiq Khan.

Lewisham Mayor Damien Egan announced he was bidding for at least £50 million worth of City Hall funding for council homes in May, with today’s announcement of £37.7m guaranteeing another 384 new council homes for the borough.

The new homes will form part of the council’s commitment to build 1000 new social homes by 2022.

This is on top of the 500 new council homes Lewisham Council promised by 2018 – with 500 homes either complete, in the planning process or being built.

Councillor Paul Bell, Cabinet Member for Housing, said the announcement comes at a time when the borough is desperate for social housing.

“This £37.7 million will go a long way to creating a Lewisham that can be home to everyone regardless of income or circumstance. This is a key priority for us and I welcome today’s announcement,” he said.

He added: “Lewisham desperately needs more social housing. This new funding will enable us to kick start Lewisham’s commitment to deliver 1,000 new social homes for families who need a safe, secure environment to live in and fulfil their potential.”

London Assembly Member, Len Duvall, said there were too many local families priced out of the housing market and stuck in temporary accommodation.

“It has always been of the utmost priority that we get to grips with the housing crisis as a matter of urgency,” he said.

He called on the Government to provide the extra £2billion needed per year to address London’s housing crisis.

“The Government have sat on their hands when it comes to council home-building, which fell flat during the 1990s,” he said.

“However, we now have an opportunity with this funding to kick-start an ambitious new building programme and provide the next generation of homes for social rent that our community desperately needs,” he continued.

The number of affordable rental homes in Lewisham have nearly halved in just seven years, more than doubling the number of homeless families in temporary accommodation in the borough.

In 2010/2011 there were 1,890 affordable rental lets, with 920 households in temporary accommodation, while projected affordable rentals for 2017/2018 were 1,147.

There are around 2000 homeless families in temporary accommodation in Lewisham.