More than 700 new council homes could be built in Greenwich under the council’s latest business plan.

The aspiration for hundreds of new builds was set out as council leader Dan Thorpe pitched drafts of the authority’s new four-year corporate plan to a meeting last night.

Cllr Thorpe revealed Greenwich would be asking City Hall to lift borrowing restrictions to fund 750 homes built directly by the council.

Speaking at the meeting, Cllr Thorpe said: “People will be aware that the housing challenges we face are significant and complex.

“The aspiration that we will be bringing forward will be to build 750 homes ourselves, the London Borough of Greenwich.

“I think that in terms of the wider housing strategy, there are a number of components that have a role to play – working with housing associations and other provides.

“All of us need to be signed up to delivering as much genuinely social housing and affordable rents as possible within the constraints of the finances we have.”

The council is preparing to make a “big bid” to Sadiq Khan’s Building Council Homes for Londoners funding scheme later this month.

The Mayor revealed his £500m borrowing programme in May, which is meant to “Help councils to build a new generation of council homes, with the majority of homes based on social rent levels.”

Councils built 2,100 homes in London in the seven years to March 2017, compared with just 70 in the preceding seven years.

Greenwich Council came under fire last month for plans to sell public estate land to private developers Pocket Living rather than build itself or through its development company Meridian Home Start.

Cllr Thorpe said Meridian would have a “continuing role to play” in the council’s wider housing strategy.