Barnet Council has received millions of pounds to build hundreds of social homes in the borough.

A total of £8,700,000 has been given as part of a Greater London Authority grant from the Mayor of London, Sadiq Khan.

It will be used to build 87 new social homes over the next four years in Barnet.

The chairman of Barnet Council’s housing committee, Cllr Gabriel Rozenberg, said: “Barnet has hundreds of vulnerable families who are looking for a long-term home.

“We face an extreme supply shortage, and anything that will help lessen the impact of this shortage is very greatly appreciated.

“Barnet welcomes help from a variety of public and private sector partners. This includes working with landlords to get empty homes occupied once again.

“We’ve brought 768 properties back into use this way since 2014, so we are looking forward to receiving the Mayor’s funding, and the 87 new homes that it will allow us to provide for people in need.”

In total Mr Khan is giving more than £1 billion to councils in the capital, which will fund over 14,000 new council homes in London over the next four years.

Mr Khan secured the money from the Government earlier this year but has warned it is not enough to plug the shortage of social housing.

He said: “We need at least four times the amount of money we currently get from Government for new social and affordable homes, and we need far greater powers to step in and buy land for new council housing.

“London’s housing crisis is hugely complex and has been decades in the making. There is no simple fix – but council housing is the most important part of the solution.

“Londoners need more council homes that they can genuinely afford, and local authorities have a fundamental role to play in getting London building the homes we need for the future.”