A flagship Tory council is going to employ former homeless people after raising thousands of pounds through a voluntary “mansion tax”.
Some of London’s richest residents have paid nearly £400,000 towards Westminster City Council’s voluntary tax.
The “community contribution” asked the estimated 2,000 people living in properties worth £10 million or more to pay extra tax that would go towards social projects.
The money will be spent hiring ex-homeless people to help rough sleepers, groups that help young people and fighting loneliness.
Council leader Nickie Aiken wrote to band H residents in March asking if they would donate up to twice the annual £1,376 they pay. More than 400 properties have contributed to the scheme.
Another 15,000 letters are this week being sent to band H householders who did not respond to the first letter.
Ms Aiken said: “Cynics said it would flop, and that wealthy householders didn’t care what happened in their neighbourhoods.
“The hundreds of thousands of pounds being allocated today shows they do care. People want to help the borough more.”
