Facts and figures - CIP
Facts and figures
The Community Investment Programme (CIP) is our ambitious plan to invest in schools, homes and community facilities in Camden. It's our way to continue to invest in our community despite massive cuts in central government funding.
In September 2022 we committed to expanding the Programme and making an additional £1.3 billion investment that will see the Council increasing the numbers of social and affordable homes in Camden.
This additional investment will mean building: 4,850 new homes, including 1,800 council homes; and 350 Camden Living Rent homes for nurses, teachers, keyworkers and other middle-earners.
We've also invested in 48 schools and children's centres and creating 9,000m2 of improved community facilities, the equivalent of 35 tennis courts.
Our expanded Programme will enable the Council to continue building larger, energy-efficient homes that provide Camden families with the space they need, help to tackle rising bills and lower carbon emissions.
CIP will help renovate thousands of existing council homes, as part of the Council’s Better Homes Programme.
Homes
We invest to ensure Camden is a place for everyone. We’re proud to be building the first council homes in a generation, and homes of all tenures.
We have directly built over 618 new council homes helping to house over 1,500 people including 650 children. These new homes are helping to tackle key local issues such as overcrowding. This means that 337children are now living in larger homes with their own bedrooms and space to learn, sleep and play.
By building homes to Lifetime Homes Standards, specialist extra care homes and homes for wheelchair users, CIP is helping to provide homes that meet tenants’ needs and allow them to continue to live independently. Households that were previously under occupying have moved into right size new homes, freeing up larger homes for other tenants.
We have 285 homes currently under construction and planning permission and Cabinet approval for a further 1,000 homes.
We’re moving ahead with other sites with potential for 2,000+ homes, including estates in Gospel Oak where we are working with residents on options.
Our residents know their community best, which is why we work closely with local people so that they have the chance to tell us what their community needs, from safer and better connected streets, to more open and green spaces for local families.
We also gave estate residents the final say as to whether regeneration plans go ahead in a ballot. In March 2020, West Kentish Town Estate residents voted overwhelmingly in favour of our plans for a new estate with 93% voting Yes – testament to our extensive and inclusive approach to engagement.
Camden Living Rent homes
We’re building 350 Camden Living homes to make it possible for teachers, nurses and people earning around £30,000 to £40,000 to afford to rent in Camden. It's our way of helping people who may not qualify for a council home but who also struggle to afford the cost of renting or buying on the open market. These homes help maintain Camden’s mixed communities and provide greater security to tenants than the private rented sector.
Building council homes for residents
Schools
After losing hundreds of millions of funding for our schools from the Government’s cuts to Building Schools for the Future, the Community Investment Programme has enabled us to invest £165m in our family of schools - meaning 17,000 children are learning in the improved schools they deserve.
Among these investments is £3m in improvements to science, technology, engineering, arts and maths facilities across 11 schools, equipping local children with the skills vital to succeed in modern London.
We’re also supporting children who need more help to succeed at school by developing our Special Educational Needs and Disability services with £5.5m, providing intensive support for 14 SEN pupils at Primrose Hill Primary and re-integration services at Rhyl to help children back into mainstream education.
We’ve spent £4.3m on sustainable improvements, including low energy lighting, improved heating systems and solar panels installed at 17 schools.
Children learning in improved schools
Community
We’ve built 4,516m2 of community space through the programme so far, equivalent to 18 tennis courts. This has included vital community hubs where people can come together such as the new St Pancras Community Centre, as well improved Tenants' and Residents' Association (TRA) halls at Bacton Low Rise and the Bourne estate.
We’ve completed hostels to offer a place to call home to some of the borough’s most vulnerable residents. We support 200 homeless residents through our Adult Pathway into independent living each year.
In addition, over 140 residents with learning disabilities and mental health issues now make regular use of the Greenwood Centre; Camden’s innovative Centre for Independent Living, run by disabled people for disabled people.
How it works
We need to build homes for sale to pay for council homes, schools and community spaces. All of the homes we build raise money for the Community Investment Programme and enable us to build council homes for families.
This means that every new home built and sold helps pay for a new council home in Camden.
Governance and CIP reports
RIBA report on council house building
Affordable Homes Programme 2021-26 – Equality Diversity and Inclusion requirements