One in eight homes being built at a former hospital site are being bought up to house families on a council waiting list.

Haringey Council has announced a deal with developers to buy 154 properties at the old St Ann’s hospital development in South Tottenham as part of a programme for 3,000 more council homes by 2031.

“This is good value for the council,” Cllr Ruth Gordon insisted. “A council home offers stability and the chance to put down real roots in the community.”

The town hall has also agreed an option to buy 116 more properties in future phases of construction, from one-bed flats to four-bed family houses.

The Peabody Group development for 1,000 new homes in St Ann’s Road is a ‘sustainable and low carbon’ neighbourhood scheme where tenants get energy-efficiency measures such as solar panels and communal air source heat pumps in their homes.

Six out of 10 are earmarked for the “affordable” end of the property market.