The UK’s first ever housing block purely for women is being built in Acton and will provide a ‘lifeline’ to those struggling to find a home and also victims of domestic abuse.

When it’s completed, Brook House will include 102 genuinely affordable, social rented flats. It replaces an old 39-home estate and the tenants will be a mixture of women on Ealing Council’s waiting list and residents put forward by Women’s Pioneer Housing, which will manage the site.

The council currently has more than 600 single women on its housing waiting list and, overall, there are almost 8,000 households in the borough waiting for a socially rented home.

‘Women disproportionately affected by crisis’

Speaking at an event last week to mark a milestone in the project, council leader Peter Mason said: “The 102 new flats being built at Brook House will provide a safe, secure, genuinely affordable place to call home for some of the hundreds of women on the waiting list for social housing in our borough.

“Some of the homes will be let to women who have experienced domestic abuse and other dangers. There is a big need for this type of specialist, women-only accommodation. Almost 3,500 cases of domestic abuse were recorded in Ealing in the last 12 months. 

“London’s affordable housing crisis disproportionately impacts women, who still face a gender pay gap that sees them on average earn less than men, constraining their ability to afford rent. With Ealing acutely affected by the national affordable housing crisis, the flats will be a lifeline for women who are unable to privately rent.” 

Construction, which is being carried out by L&Q, is expected to be completed by next summer, with the first residents moving in shortly after.

‘Providing a real home’

The original estate at Brook House, in Gunnersbury Lane, opposite Acton Town Underground station, was built in the 1930s, with additional homes and blocks built in the 70s. However, many of these homes were no longer fit for modern living standards and were also not suitable for refurbishment.

Tracey Downie, chief executive at Women’s Pioneer Housing, said: “Women’s Pioneer Housing has worked for more than 100 years with single women, including in Ealing, and we strongly believe that providing more good-quality, affordable homes for women is critically important, particularly during this cost-of-living and energy crisis. This new building will provide a real home for many single women in dire need.”

Working towards housing target

The council helps to provide much-needed new homes for the borough in 2 ways:

• directly building them, either on its own or with partners
• or, like in this case, using the planning system to ensure as much affordable housing as possible is provided by private developments.

The new homes at Brook House will count towards the council’s target of thousands of new genuinely affordable homes being available to let by 2026. Recently, 84 new homes at the site of the former Northolt Grange Community Centre moved a step closer to completion.