Not a single home has been built by Kingston Council within the past 10 years, despite London facing a critical housing crisis.

Surrey Comet:

The Cambridge Road estate will become one of 31 "housing" zones across London

The zero figure was revealed as part of a Freedom of Information request that asked the authority how many homes it had built between 2005 and 2015.

According to a report released by homelessness charity Shelter in October, more than 6,000 people are on a council home waiting list in Kingston.

Friday, March 18: Tenants' fear over plans to rebuild Cambridge Road estate as London mayor Boris Johnson offers council share of £200m

Saturday, October 3: Kingston one of the "worst boroughs in London" when it comes to house building

The revelation comes as London Mayor Boris Johnson prepares to announce the amount of funding he will give the council to create a “housing zone” in the Cambridge Road estate in Norbiton, which the Surrey Comet can reveal to be £46.2m.

The sum is believed to be the second highest allocated to the 11 new housing zones the Mayor announced across the capital last month and will be used to re-build the estate.

Kingston Council leader Kevin Davis, whose Conservative administration took control of the council from the Liberal Democrats in 2014, said house building has become the top priority.

He said: “We have been so far behind the curve.

“Really, the problem here is that we weren’t building any houses – that is largely the legacy we are having to pick up now.

“The whole of the borough has been at a standstill for the past 12 years under the Lib Dems.

“One has to ask what they did do for the 12 years they were in power?”

Surrey Comet:

The council home waiting list hit 6,000 in October 2015 

Former Liberal Democrat council leader Liz Green defended the party’s attempts to build homes, claiming the administration’s “hands were tied” by central Government and strict Housing Revenue Account (HRA) rules limited the council from borrowing money to build houses.

The rules were reformed in April 2012, giving councils full control of their housing stock.

Cllr Green said: “We lobbied very strongly for that to be changed.

“I think we could have moved quicker once we were able to borrow from the HRA – it took us quite some time once that change came about.

“But I don’t think there was any dramatic difference we could have made. There was good reasoning why council properties weren’t being built.

“It’s a process we started. Right now there is the opportunity to get hold of that money, which wasn’t there five years ago.”

Surrey Comet:

London Mayor Boris Johnson is set to give the council £46.2m to regenerate the estate

The Cambridge Road estate will become one of 31 housing zones across London, with the number of homes expected to increase from 830 to 1,699.

Residents have expressed concerns over the plans, particularly as to where residents will be rehoused while the estate is razed and rebuilt and how many of the homes will be affordable social housing.

But Jill Preston, chairwoman of the Cambridge Road Estates Community Group, welcomed the additional funding.

She said: “It’s good news.

“We need more council homes and hopefully that money will mean the proportion of other homes that need to be built to balance the books is less. It’s about time somebody realised Kingston is not rich and famous, it’s a deprived area.”

Kingston and Surbiton MP James Berry said: “Given that there has been a developing housing crisis over the past 10 years the council policy should have been building council housing or releasing land to housing associations or others who were able to build affordable housing.

“We now need a big push to make sure more council housing is built. It’s a question of looking where it’s appropriate to build.”