More than 1,000 residents have backed a petition calling on Richmond Council to accelerate delivery of affordable housing after national figures showed the borough completed just 34 affordable homes between 2020/21 and 2022/23. The Labour campaign in Twickenham says the council must produce clear, verifiable milestones to prove its claims of a larger pipeline will translate into completed homes.
Petition demands precise targets and transparency
The petition, launched by Twickenham Labour, was recorded on the council website as having 1,169 signatures. Campaigners asked the Liberal Democrat-led authority to commit to four measures aimed at improving accountability around affordable housing delivery.
- Publish expected completions for 2026/27 and beyond;
- Provide details of how many homes in the pipeline have planning permission, are under construction, or will be completed in the coming year;
- Issue quarterly updates on affordable housing starts and completions;
- Confirm how many of the homes will be allocated for social rent.
Campaigners emphasised the urgency of identifying homes for social rent, noting these are often the most needed by families, younger residents and local key workers.
"If that programme delivers completed homes everyone in this chamber will welcome it, but residents have heard ambitious figures before. A pipeline is not a completed home, a start on site is not a family receiving the keys to a secure affordable home and planning permission is not the same as delivery."
The quotation above was made by Pam Marum, Twickenham Labour's policy officer, at a council meeting on 14 July, where she pressed councillors to provide tangible evidence of progress rather than projections.
Council response and what is known
In response to the petition, the council pointed to a larger body of work in development, saying it has more than 1,000 affordable homes in the pipeline. Campaigners welcomed that statement but stressed that a pipeline must result in completed, occupied properties to address housing need.
| Measure | Reported figure |
|---|---|
| Affordable homes completed (2020/21–2022/23) | 34 |
| Signatures on petition | 1,169 |
| Homes said to be in council pipeline | More than 1,000 |
Labour councillors asked for a breakdown of the pipeline by planning stage — how many schemes have permission, how many are actively being built and how many are forecast to finish within the next 12 months. They also sought assurance about the tenure mix, especially the number designated for social rent rather than intermediate tenures or shared ownership.
Local implications and next steps
A low number of completions over the three-year period will be particularly concerning to families on waiting lists, young people seeking to remain in the borough and to public service workers who find local housing unaffordable. The petition reflects widespread anxiety that ambitious targets do not always become tangible outcomes.
Council leaders have been asked to respond publicly with quantified delivery plans and to adopt the requested quarterly reporting so residents can track progress. If the council publishes the detailed breakdown campaigners want, it will be possible to assess whether the pipeline is likely to translate into the rapid increase in completed affordable homes that residents are demanding.
For now, the petition remains a formal marker of local frustration and a prompt for elected members to show how borough-level plans will deliver homes rather than aspirational totals.
