Harrow will benefit from hundreds of new council homes after it was awarded a £32 million grant by the Mayor of London.

Sadiq Khan has put aside a £1 billion pot to help build more houses for social rent across the capital.

Harrow Council was awarded the 11th-highest amount of funding, which will help build 618 homes in the borough.

Cllr Phillip O’Dell, responsible for housing, said: “This money from the mayor allows us to continue with our ambitious council home-building programme in Harrow.

“We are pleased the Government has listened to us and other authorities and has finally abolished borrowing restrictions, and we can now do our bit to build homes for local people who are priced-out and inadequately housed.

“This investment makes it possible for us to build 618 high-quality affordable homes for Harrow people.”

In 2016/17, several London councils did not start nor complete any houses available for social rent.

Harrow Council has previously explained that this is partly due to restrictions to its powers and borrowing.

But it has already put forward plans to build dozens of council homes at Grange Farm estate and, last year, moved families into six of its homes in Stanmore.

Mr Khan said that this funding would go some way towards tackling the city’s housing problems.

He said: “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.”