A disused nursing home in Muswell Hill looks set to become the first site for Haringey’s new council house building programme.

Cranwood Nursing Home, in Woodside Avenue, has been disused since 2012 and was set to be part of the council’s assets sale to Lendlease as part of the Haringey Development Vehicle (HDV).

The council’s cabinet voted to approve the purchase of two houses behind the site, after a 10-minute private session of the meeting at Wood Green Civic Centre.

The Cranwood plot is the only area currently designated for new council houses in the west of Haringey.

Cllr Emine Ibrahim, cabinet member for housing and estate renewal, told the meeting: “It is part of a feasibility study into the site, and to start work on the Cranwood site in Muswell Hill.

“We have a severe shortage of social housing in the borough, particularly in the west, and this will help us deliver more housing for people who need it.”

Cabinet papers show initial work has already been done at the site, which needs further investigation, due diligence and more feasibility work.

In July the cabinet voted to set-up its own council house building programme after leader Joseph Ejiofor’s new administration scrapped HDV.

Months earlier his predecessor, Claire Kober, announced she was stepping down, after pressure on the issue. Several HDV supporting councillors were de-selected by their local Labour groups in opposition to the plans.

The former Cranwood Nursing Home, which is on the corner of Woodside Avenue and Muswell Hill Road, was closed by Haringey in 2012 as part of a bid to cut £87million from their budget.