The Housing Secretary is today taking the unusual step of
intervening in the London Plan to boost housing delivery in the
capital.
has repeatedly warned the
Mayor of London that the London Plan, which sets out how London
will deliver homes, is holding back housebuilding in the capital
and letting down Londoners.
Today he has directed the current Mayor of London to conduct
a partial review of the London Plan, and asked the Greater London
Authority to report back findings in September. This will focus
on two specific areas:
-
Industrial land: an estimated 6,800 hectares of land is being
used for industry in the capital. Of this, 736 hectares, the
equivalent of approximately 900 football pitches, could
potentially be turned into housing developments, but are
stuck in the planning system, and developers have said the
current policy is too restrictive.
-
Opportunity areas: these are 47 areas across London that the
Mayor and the Greater London Authority have identified as
each typically having the potential to deliver at least 2,500
new homes or 5,000 new jobs (or a combination of the two),
but too many have made almost no progress and others appear
to have plateaued. The Government has asked the Mayor to
ensure the list of areas is sufficiently targeted, consider
how other policies in the plan that constrain capacity or
delivery might be adjusted, and asked if there is a role for
a single planning framework to accelerate housing.
Housing Secretary said:
Londoners are being let down by the Mayor’s chronic under
delivery of new homes in the capital. We have already taken
comprehensive action to reverse this trend - investing billions
of pounds to build affordable homes and unlocking brownfield
developments as part of our Long-Term Plan for Housing.
However, that alone will not build the homes we need, which is
why I am now directing the Mayor to review aspects of the London
Plan and announcing specialist support on planning to help unlock
thousands of homes.
I look forward to continuing to work with the Greater London
Authority, councils and the sector so we can get spades in the
ground and deliver the homes the capital needs.”
Minister for London said:
It is unacceptable that Londoners don’t have access to the homes
they need due to persistent under-delivery of home building,
which is why we’re directing the Mayor to review London Plan
policies.
This action comes on top of millions of pounds in government
investment to regenerate estates, unlock major brownfield sites,
and build thousands of new homes. But government cannot act in
isolation - we need the Greater London Authority to step up and
work with us, so we can provide affordable housing for all.
A new ‘super-squad’ of planners, brought in by Government, will
use their expertise to work across London to speed up planning
decisions. The specialist team will work on complex cases that
for too long have been held up in the planning system.
Newham and Greenwich have been prioritised with
£500,000 to help with planning applications and unlock over
7,000 homes.
This follows a number of major Government interventions already
in London, where the rate of delivery needs to increase from an
average of 37,200 homes each year to 62,300 to meet the targets
set out in the London Plan.
Earlier this year, following an independent review of the London
Plan, the Housing Secretary announced a consultation on national
planning policy to support brownfield land development. However,
these changes alone will not unlock the housing London needs
which is why further interventions were made today.
London is receiving millions of pounds of Government investment
to support housing delivery; this year alone it has announced £50
million to regenerate estates in London, £4 million to boost the
delivery of homes around Euston and £125 million to unlock three
major brownfield sites in London. These interventions will
support the delivery of thousands of homes across the capital.
