BHP tackles overcrowding in Brent

Brent Housing Partnership (BHP) plans to provide lofts and extensions to families who are experiencing problems of overcrowding.

There are a number of residents who are waiting for transfers due to overcrowding, however, there are not enough homes to meet the demands and the wait can be very long.

As a result of the housing shortage which is a London-wide issue, BHP’s Major Works Team has been thinking outside of the box and looking at ways to meet residents’ needs. They applied for a stream of funding from the Greater London Authority via the West London Sub Region to implement a programme to ease overcrowding via lofts and extensions.

There are 11 properties in total within Brent that will benefit from the loft and extension programme. Five need to be completed by the end of March 2011 and the remaining seven will begin in March 2011. Last year BHP completed 58 lofts and extensions.

The families who have qualified for this round of lofts and extensions are on the overcrowded or severely overcrowded list.

Miss Faisa Yusuf from Kilburn will be having a loft conversion from two bedrooms to three. She said: “We are all very excited to be getting the loft extension. I have five children and we have been on the housing transfer list for three years due to overcrowding.

“It’s been a very long wait and we never found a suitable alternative property. When we were informed that we were eligible for a loft conversion it was such good news as we like our home and our area and have built a life here. We are looking forward to the end result”.

Gerry Doherty, chief executive of BHP said: “We are very pleased to be able to offer some of the residents on the housing waiting list the opportunity of loft conversions and extensions to enable them to live a better quality of life with the space they need. We are committed to finding more innovative solutions to tackle overcrowding and provide happy environments for residents to live”.