How about some hidden homes here?

I am today writing to the council suggesting that they should get these derelict former homes and disused garages in Minstead Gardens, on the Alton Estate, back into use as part of their Hidden Homes programme.

For those of you unfamiliar with this scheme, the Council has since 2003 been converting surplus storage rooms and the like on council estates into extra flats. This is a good scheme: it's pretty much responsible for all the new for rent council homes being created in Wandsworth. The problem is that the Conservatives seem to believe that the 130 homes they've built in those five years (an average of just 26 a year) is the sole and complete cure for the housing problem they share no small amount of responsibility for creating locally.

The number of council homes in Wandsworth has been halved in the last 25 years; from 32,000 in 1981 to less than 16,000 today. With all due respect, 130 hidden homes doesn't even start to rectify this haemorrage of affordable homes.

Minstead Gardens comprises, in the main, sheltered housing bungalows for senior citizens so this space, right on the boundary of Richmond Park, would be perfect for five or so new homes for local pensioners. It would also sort out a derelict site that is currently a bit of an eyesore.

So how about it Wandsworth Council? Let's have some hidden homes for rent in Minstead Gardens.