For the first time in decades, Runnymede Borough Council is acquiring new affordable homes in Egham — thirteen properties at the Cala Homes Maple Croft development on Thorpe Lea Road, on the former Kerry Foods site, due for handover in spring 2026.
Labour championed new affordable council housing in Egham throughout its years in opposition before May 2024, arguing consistently that the council should be actively acquiring homes for local people — not leaving families on waiting lists while developers build properties they cannot afford. With the Alliance now in office, that work has begun.
Built for local people first
The thirteen homes — ten one- and two-bedroom apartments and three two-bedroom terraced houses — will be let at affordable rents to people on the council’s housing register. Priority goes to those with a strong local connection: people who have lived in Runnymede for at least three years or have a work connection here. The homes will be owned, managed and maintained directly by the council, ensuring they remain a community asset for years to come.
Genuinely green homes
Every property features air source heat pumps and electric vehicle charging points, keeping energy bills down for tenants while reducing environmental impact. These are among the most energy-efficient properties in the council’s housing stock — reflecting Labour’s commitment to combining social housing with genuine climate action.
Funded without using Council Tax
The investment is made through the council’s Housing Revenue Account — money generated by the council’s existing housing stock — so it does not draw on Council Tax. This reflects the Alliance’s approach to using the council’s own resources wisely to deliver new homes without passing costs to residents.
Cllr Robert King, Co-Leader of Runnymede Borough Council, said:
“I’m proud that this will be our first site delivering on the council’s promise to provide new affordable homes specifically for local people — those who have lived in the borough for the last three years or have a work connection here. It’s especially pleasing that the new houses and flats will have such impressive energy-saving and environmentally friendly features, helping to keep energy bills down for future residents while reducing our wider impact on the environment.”
With more schemes in the pipeline, this is the beginning of the programme, not the end of it.