95 new social-rent homes for South Acton

A major housing development between Acton Town and South Acton is taking a different direction after Ealing Council agreed to acquire 95 homes at the Bollo Yard development on Bollo Lane.

The properties are being purchased from developer Hurlington Capital and comprise:

• 27 one-bedroom homes
• 60 two-bedroom homes
• 8 three-bedroom homes

All 95 will become social-rent homes for people on the borough's housing waiting list.

The council formally approved the acquisition of Block J/K at Bollo Yard at its Cabinet meeting on 9 July.

How much is the Bollo Yard deal worth?

The agreed purchase price for the homes is £29.15 million, with a further £1.13 million budgeted for acquisition and project costs.

That brings the overall approved budget to approximately £30.28 million.

Council records say the acquisition will be financed through a combination of Greater London Authority funding, Right to Buy receipts and borrowing.

The original council report calculated an acquisition cost of approximately £318,700 per home, compared with an estimated average open-market value of around £564,100 for comparable new-build properties.

From affordable housing to social rent

One of the most significant aspects of the deal is what happens to the tenure of the homes.

Before the council acquisition, the 95 properties were planned as 49 London Affordable Rent homes and 46 shared-ownership homes.

The council's purchase converts the entire block to social rent.

That distinction matters because social rents are generally substantially below private-market rents and are intended to provide more genuinely affordable long-term housing.

The homes will be held within Ealing Council's Housing Revenue Account.

Part of a much bigger Ealing housing programme

Bollo Yard isn't an isolated purchase.

It is the third large-scale acquisition of homes from developers by Ealing Council since June 2025.

The previous deals involved 180 homes at The Green Quarter in Southall and 110 homes at Acton Gardens.

Together with the 95 Bollo Yard properties, the three acquisitions account for 385 homes at a combined cost of around £130 million.

For Acton specifically, the Bollo Yard acquisition follows the 110-home Acton Gardens deal, meaning a significant proportion of the council's recent bulk-purchase programme is concentrated in this part of the borough.

Why is Ealing buying homes directly from developers?

The strategy comes against considerable pressure on affordable housing supply.

Ealing Council says more than 6,000 households are currently on its waiting list for a council home.

Earlier council documentation for the Bollo Yard acquisition also highlighted the pressures created by families living in temporary accommodation and long waits for larger council properties.

Rather than waiting solely for new council-led developments to be completed, purchasing homes already being developed provides another route for increasing the borough's social housing stock.

The council's formal decision on Bollo Yard said buying the homes would increase the supply of genuinely affordable housing and potentially reduce some of the costs associated with homelessness and temporary accommodation.

When will the new Acton homes be ready?

The 95 apartments are not ready for residents yet.

Demolition work has started at the Bollo Yard site and the development is currently expected to be completed in 2028.

The wider Bollo Yard development is planned as a mixed scheme incorporating residential accommodation alongside student housing and workspace.

Its location between Acton Town and South Acton also puts the development within reach of both Underground and Overground services.

For households eventually allocated one of the 95 properties, the significance of the deal is straightforward: homes that might otherwise have been offered through different affordable-housing arrangements will instead become part of Ealing's long-term stock of social rented housing.

At a Glance

Development: Bollo Yard, Bollo Lane, South Acton
Homes purchased: 95
One-bedroom: 27
Two-bedroom: 60
Three-bedroom: 8
Tenure: All 95 to become social rent
Purchase price: £29.15 million
Overall approved budget: Up to £30.28 million
Developer: Hurlington Capital
Expected completion: 2028
Location: Between Acton Town and South Acton
Wider programme: 385 homes acquired through three major developer deals since June 2025