Key workers still can't buy 'affordable' homes

It was billed as the solution to London's housing crisis - a huge programme of "affordable" homes for thousands of vital workers such as nurses, teachers and ambulance drivers who cannot afford to buy property in the capital.

Under the much-hyped scheme, builders and housing associations get millions of pounds of Government subsidies to construct homes for "key workers", often on expensive developments.

But the Evening Standard has found that in some cases only a handful of key workers live in them. There are concerns many simply cannot afford the "affordable housing" - despite discounts, many of the designated flats still cost well over £1,000 a month.

Others do not know about the scheme because of poor marketing. Instead many homes are being bought by young professionals. At least £500 million a year in subsidies is going into affordable housing. A further £1.5 billion of grants are earmarked for the next two years.

Matt Cornish, a spokesman for housing charity Shelter, which first highlighted the problem, said: "Are these subsidies really helping key workers, or are they going to people who just want nicer homes than they would normally be able to afford?"

One example is west London's Imperial Wharf, the biggest elite Thames-side development. Penthouse flats cost up to £4 million and residents include former footballer Lee Chapman and wife Lesley Ash.

Half of it is "affordable housing". Of that, about 15 per cent is for key workers. Mayor Ken Livingstone called it "a template of what I want to see across London".

The key worker homes cost £320,000 to £410,000. Under a subsidised "part rent, part buy" scheme, a couple living in a £340,000 flat would pay £1,005.50 a month including service charges.

In Mallard House, an affordable block in the complex, the Standard found only one classic "key worker" - a primary school teacher on £29,000 a year. Other residents included a marketing consultant, a web designer, a data analyst and a building manager. Some earned up to £50,000 a year.

Housing associations insist it is acceptable to offer homes to other people on "moderate" incomes if key workers do not come forward. A spokeswoman for Acton Housing Association, which sold the Imperial Wharf affordable homes, said Hammersmith and Fulham council prioritised key workers for them, including "teachers, nursery nurses, police officers and a council tenant". She added: "We want to create mixed sustainable communities."

Shelter identified other prestige developments with similar problems, including-Gainsborough Studios in Hoxton, and the Chelsea Bridge Wharf development.