Croydon’s Labour administration has come under fire from Conservatives for refusing to publish a list of publicly owned sites it has slated for development.

Earlier this month the council launched its own development company, Brick by Brick, with the intention of building up to 1,000 new homes in the borough by 2018.

At Monday’s cabinet meeting the council agreed to borrow money for the company to purchase and develop publicly owned sites in the borough - but key details, including locations and costs, were not made public.

Conservative leader Tim Pollard said his party was “committed to providing housing” but questioned why the Labour administration was keeping a “secret list” of development sites.

He said: “On this side of the chamber we are very committed to using council assets to provide good quality housing and housing that people can afford.

“I was listening to what Cllr Butler had to say about how open the council is going to be about the development because, as of tonight, we can’t talk about where any of those sites are because the entire list of sites, together with their value, is not public.

“It does beg the question that this is essentially a secret list.

“Why the sites are a secret is a complete mystery because there are implications to what the council is proposing to do, it is proposing to use what are currently community assets and redevelop them for housing.

“I think the people of Croydon have the right to hear about that before it is a done deal.”

RELATED: New council housing company to build 1,000 homes

The company will construct houses on as many as 50 sites across the borough in a bid to stem the homelessness crisis, it said in a statement.

Both affordable and market-value homes will be built under the plans designed to cope with rising demand and a growing population.

But Cllr Alison Butler, cabinet member for homes, regeneration and planning, denied the list was secret, adding: “There are a number of sites on that list that are now public, what has been really important is the first people we have been talking to around those sites are the people who live in the local area, the people who will be directly affected and will directly benefit from those sites.

“So already the council has released details, it is on our website in the part that is dedicated to Brick by Brick.

“Sites [are] in South Norwood, Upper Norwood, Waddon, Coulsdon, Broad Green, Fairfield, Croham and New Addington and they are all available on the council’s website if you want to go there today.

“We felt it is really important that we get into engagement with local people so they don’t really talk about what is happening elsewhere, that they are in on that conversation right from the beginning.”

A list of 15 sites have been published on the council’s website but costs associated with developing those sites are not available.

Cllr Simon Hall, cabinet member for finance and treasury, said: “In terms of the value as opposed to where the sites are the issue is that these are estimated values which will depend on the type of development and therefore in that respect it is very much commercially sensitive.”

The council has begun feasibility studies into dozens of potential sites new homes.