More than 30 homeless families now have a permanent roof over their head as part of "Croydon's largest housebuilding programme in decades".

Croydon Council has marked the latest stage of its £22m initiative to increase social housing stock in the borough with the completion of 74 new homes.

The latest scheme to be finished - a mixed development of town houses and flats on the site of the former Fieldway job centre - includes energy-efficient features such as solar panels in a bit to reduce household bills.

Most of the properties are two to four-bedroom houses, with 10 per cent suitable for wheelchair users or people with other disabilities.

Some 34 of the families housed were previously homeless.

Councillor Alison Butler, cabinet member for homes, said: “These latest new council homes show our commitment to delivering on our exciting plans to develop hundreds more affordable and market-rate properties in the near future.

“I’m particularly pleased that every new council property we build takes another family off our waiting list. This gets people out of unsuitable or temporary accommodation and lets them start to build a new life with the assurance of a council tenancy."

The new homes - in Fieldway, Coulsdon East, Shirley, New Addington, Heathfield, Kenley, Waddon, Bensham Manor and Broad Green - have been built with the help of £2.2m grant from City Hall.

Mayor of London Boris Johnson said he had "prioritised new investment to help regenerate Croydon" in order to provide "affordable homes that the area so urgently needs.

"With a brand new Westfield shopping centre on the way and one of the capital’s fastest growing tech clusters, Croydon is becoming one of London’s most vibrant town centres as well as a major driver of the London economy."

Croydon Council hopes to build a further 700 new homes sites across the borough by 2019, which will be a mixture of council and private properties.

The development program will be be funded "from a range of investment sources...to ensure the programme comes at minimal cost to local taxpayers", according to the council.

Also planned are new community centres, leisure facilities and shops, as well regeneration schemes for College Green and the former Taberner House site.

Percy and Peggy Gray moved have downsized from their three-bedroom maisonette in New Addington to one of the newly-built council homes, a two-bedroom bungalow in Waddon.

Their new home has an en-suite spare room that can be used as a carer’s studio if needed in future.

Mr Gray, 63, said: “It’s great – it’s everything we ever wanted. It’s the right location, quiet and with a garden all the way around it. I said I wanted to stay with the council and we didn’t want to be in private accommodation because I felt it isn’t guaranteed.”

Mrs Gray, a former school chef, said: “Where we lived before for 22 years we brought our kids up, and then we wanted to move away to start a new life; thanks to Croydon Council we got this. At the end of the day, we’re really happy here.”

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