Tenants have been welcomed into homes at the first of a series of developments to provide 300 new council homes in Epping Forest.

New residents have been were welcomed into John Scott Court in Waltham Abbey, a 23-home block in the first phase of Epping Forest Council’s housebuilding programme.

The development, named after the council’s former housing officer John Scott, is built on a former garage site and offers affordable rented homes to local residents.

Guests, including Mr Scott, Epping Forest MP Eleanor Laing, and local councillors, were on hand for a ceremony to launch the block last week.

Syd Stavrou, Epping Forest Council portfolio holder for housing, said: “We are committed to making the best use of our housing stock and are continuing to build new homes for people in housing need within our community.

“We are proud to be working with residents and partners, building more well-designed homes for affordable rent in our district”.

The new homes at are the latest completions in the district-wide programme of over 300 new affordable homes to be built during the next 10 years.

They will be followed by the completion of another development in Burton Road, Loughton, which is on due to finish in March 2018.

Waltham Abbey Town Council leader, Cllr Liz Webster, said: "We are delighted to see the opening of these new homes in Waltham Abbey.

"They are of a very high design and build standard, and make a great addition to the housing stock locally."