Dear Mr Colton,

Thank you for your request dated 29 January 2024, asking for information that we hold as follows:

“The average cost, in pounds, of building a brand new two bedroom council flat in the borough of Barnet. This should only include new-build projects, undertaken by Barnet Homes. And to include only those new-build projects started in the last 5 years.

 

We understand that this may vary by location, project etc. On that basis, please provide examples of the average cost at different locations / projects. If you have any concerns about the commercial sensitivity of this information, please feel free to anonymise each location / project. i.e. At Location / Project 1, the average cost of building a two bedroom property was £200k etc.”

 

Barnet Homes’ response

 

Please find below a table identifying three sites where blocks of two bed flats were built within the last five years.

 

  Cost per 2 bed flat
Location 1                   240,870
Location 2                   223,627
Location 3                   290,819

 

 

I would note that identifying the average cost of residential construction projects can be difficult based on a number of factors:

 

  1. The physical condition of the site can vary the amount of ‘abnormal’ costs; e.g. having to decontaminate land, move utility infrastructure, build within a physically constrained environment etc

 

  1. Tender prices can be extremely volatile and reflect wider economic / market conditions. The last five years has included Covid-19, the Ukraine war (with the attendant effects on energy costs) and a period of inflation not experienced in circa 20 years; all of these will add to the risk factor that building contractor would consider when pricing a project.

 

  1. The design that secured planning permission will change from project to project (building height, flat sizes etc) and materials used can vary, which would in-turn influence costs.

 

To assist your enquiry, we have taken another approach, using benchmarked median cost data from 19 projects across London Local Authorities provided in the last four quarters (£4,197m2) set against an average 2-bed 4-person flat size of 70m2, which would equal £293,790 per 2 bed flat. Although this is not an explicit answer to your question (as it covers other London Borough’s) it may give a wider picture of approximate current-day costs (noting the same 1-3  caveats apply).

 

Your Rights

If you are unhappy with the way your request for information has been handled, you can request a review by emailing Talk2Us@barnethomes.org and marking it as an appeal for the attention of the Data Controller. There is no charge for making an appeal.

After this, if you remain dissatisfied with the handling of your request or complaint, you have the right to appeal to the Information Commissioner:

Kind regards