Kingston Council leader Kevin Davis has dismissed the authority’s Better Homes programme as “not good enough” and has promised to “do something about it”.

The Conservative leader also blasted the previous Liberal Democrat administration for building just 184 affordable homes in three years, calling it a “sad indictment” in light of the borough’s growing population.

The five-year Better Homes scheme, which started in 2012, is a major programme of improvement works that will eventually see all of the borough’s council-owned housing ultimately exceed Government standards by 2017.

But Councillor Davis said: “There is a part of me worried about social housing.

“The problem with the Better Homes programme is that we are doing no better.

“The reality is that it’s only doing repairs that we should have been doing for the past 30 years.

“It is not improving, it is maintaining. I don’t think that is good enough. I want to do something about it.”

A new housing strategy including social and affordable housing will be announced in the next few weeks, Coun Davis said.

As of March 31, 2014, Kingston Council had spent £18.5m on Better Homes work, with a remaining £32.8m still available.

The number of properties that have had or are undergoing works under the Better Homes programme stands at 1,499.

Labour leader Linsey Cottington said: “The question is ‘why did it take so long?’ “It is years and years behind. But for some tenants the improvements do better their quality of life in their homes.”

Opposition Liberal Democrat leader Liz Green said her administration had not had enough money to improve council homes, with much of the rent previously collected going back to central Government.

She said: “I am not disagreeing that people needed these things earlier, but we did not have the finances.

“But I am very proud that Better Homes is improving council stock and properties for the tenants.”