Unlocking more from homes within London’s existing boroughs

London boroughs are under increasing pressure to deliver more affordable housing, but the challenge isn’t simply finding land.

In a dense city, some of the most valuable opportunities can be found within existing estates – sites that may appear modest on paper, but can make a meaningful contribution to housing supply when approached intelligently.

Unlocking that potential isn’t only a question of fitting more homes onto available land. It means understanding the community already there, the different housing needs that exist within it, and how new development can improve rather than simply add to an existing place. Accessibility, movement, public realm, landscape, buildability and long-term management all become part of the equation.

Across three completed developments for Westminster City Council, we’ve seen how underused land can provide much-needed social housing while bringing wider investment and improvements to the communities already there.

Westminster faces a complex housing challenge that reflects the wider pressures across London. Demand for affordable homes is high, land is limited and development costs are significant, all within a dense and established urban environment. At the same time, the Council must balance changing demographics, accessibility needs and the long-term needs of existing communities.

With fewer opportunities for new development, unlocking latent potential within existing estates becomes increasingly important. Torridon House, Queen’s Park Court and Turing House each began with underused land within an established estate.

Westminster City Council’s Regeneration and Development Director, Setareh Neshati, has described how Westminster is a diverse borough rich with history, architecture, cultural institutions and long-established communities. She explains:

“Westminster is an area with the most listed buildings of any borough of which 78% lies in a conservation zone, therefore we must balance the needs of communities and in our decision making to ensure new development sites come forward. To do this we must demonstrate the key needs of the city, particularly against the local plan, and help set a vision to benefit local people through affordable housing and better infrastructure.  This is no different on our existing estates, where working closely with our residents from the beginning helps us shape potential development opportunities that work for the whole community”.

Across Torridon, Queen’s Park Court and Turing House — together, a former surface car park and storage area, redundant estate land and an operational residents’ car park — have been transformed into 64 new social-rent homes.

But making better use of existing estates requires more than identifying where new homes might physically fit. Development has to respond to places where communities, relationships and patterns of everyday life are already established.

That means considering how new homes sit alongside existing buildings, routes, facilities and shared spaces – and looking for opportunities for investment to benefit the wider community at the same time.

Across the three Westminster developments, increasing housing supply has gone hand-in-hand with investment in the existing estates.

Alongside 64 new social-rent homes, the schemes have introduced new and improved shared gardens, better pedestrian connections, new planting and biodiversity improvements, enhanced public realm, private outdoor space and practical improvements for existing residents.

Rather than treating new housing in isolation, each development has been considered as an opportunity to strengthen the community around it.

• 64 new social-rent homes
• New and improved shared gardens
• Improved pedestrian routes
• Biodiversity and new planting
• Enhanced public realm
• Accessible homes
• Private outdoor space
• Improvements supporting existing residents

The Government has set an ambition to deliver 1.5 million new homes this Parliament, with local authorities playing a critical role in increasing housing supply and delivering more social and affordable homes.

For London boroughs, meeting that ambition means balancing significant and sometimes competing demands: limited land, affordability, established communities, accessibility, an ageing population and the need to create places that will continue to support and sustain over the long term.

Housing delivery therefore isn’t simply a numbers game. Strong, resilient communities need a diverse housing offer that supports people at different stages of life, with different circumstances and different needs.

Across the three Westminster developments, that meant providing a range of housing typologies to meet different needs – from homes for individuals through to multigenerational family homes and even specialist later-living provision

For Westminster City Council, their housebuilding programme responds to an acute need in the borough. For example, there is a 16 year wait for a 3-bedroom family sized home on the council waiting list and the council receives over 2,000 homeless applications a year.  In response to an ageing population, the council is also modernising older sheltered accommodation which date back to a forgone era. The difference this can make, Setareh Neshati says, is that “our older residents can live with comfort, security and dignity for the future – often moving from bedsits or studio flats are no longer suitable for their needs”

For councils, identifying an opportunity and securing planning permission is only part of the challenge. The real test is carrying the quality, social value and ambition established at design stage through procurement, technical development and construction.

This is where delivery expertise matters.

Delivery brings its own pressures – from cost and buildability to regulatory requirements and the realities of working within existing communities. Navigating these while protecting what matters requires technical expertise, rigorous coordination, technical judgement, and the ability to hold design intent through complex trade-offs.

For us, that means becoming embedded with the councils we work with. Local authorities bring an invaluable understanding of their places and the needs of the communities they serve, and close collaboration throughout delivery helps keep those priorities at the heart of the project. Across the three developments with Westminster City Council, that effort has been central to carrying their ambitions through into completed homes.

As the main driving force behind its housebuilding programme, Setareh emphasises the importance of Westminster setting “the key objectives for its schemes, and therefore with an overarching responsibility to deliver quality, long-lasting homes, and place shaping for our projects.”

As pressure to deliver affordable housing continues, the opportunity for London boroughs cannot be simply to identify more land. It’s to look differently at the land and assets they already have, and to develop these sites with a wider view of the value they can create.

Looking at existing estates in this way can unlock opportunities that extend beyond housing numbers – strengthening neighbourhoods, responding to changing needs and bringing wider investment into existing communities.

For boroughs looking to unlock more from their existing estates, the first step is understanding where the strongest opportunities lie, what they could deliver and how they can be brought forward.