When he became mayor, Mr Khan instructed the GLA to buy the former Webbs Industrial Estate site – a plot of land that stood derelict for seven years – with the intention of finding a development partner to build more new and affordable homes for Londoners.

The site received a City Hall record number of bids (13) with Catalyst housing association selected as the preferred bidders.

Catalyst will work in conjunction with partners including Swan Housing Association and architects CF Møller Architects.

The deal comes ahead of the mayor setting out his plans for City Hall taking a greater role intervening in land decisions across the capital.

The Webbs Industrial Estate site, which was a former glass lampshade and bulb factory, will now be transformed with 330 homes – all of which will be affordable and available as shared ownership – along with a creative hub providing more than 3,000 square metres of new affordable workspace and artist studios, a park area and retail space in the heart of the Blackhorse Road area.

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After working closely with Waltham Forest Council, Mr Khan purchased the site in July last year after previous plans to build a free school at the location fell through.

The previous developers of the site had an outline planning consent with an affordable percentage of homes as low as 3%, but a sale has now been agreed with Catalyst and the derelict buildings will now make way for new homes which will all be affordable.

Work to clear the site is expected to get underway later this year.

“For too long there was a severe lack of genuinely affordable homes being built in London, which fuelled the housing crisis and is robbing many Londoners of their dream of buying their own home.

“I’m doing all I can to help fix London’s housing crisis, but it will take time to turn things round.

“I’ve been honest from the start – this is going to be a marathon, not a sprint.  

“But we’re already taking big steps forward – my new planning rules will help raise affordable housing levels in new developments, and my £3.15bn funding deal with government will help to build an extra 90,000 genuinely affordable homes to rent and buy.”