The Home Builders Federation (HBF) has welcomed the Mayor of London’s focus on improving the viability of new housing in the draft London Plan, while warning that the Plan doesn’t go far enough to address the capital’s housing crises, urging the Mayor and policy makers to take immediate action to reverse the city’s sharp decline in housing delivery.
Published by Sadiq Khan, the streamlined draft plan sets out proposals to unlock more affordable housing, support economic growth and reduce complexity in the planning system. The Mayor says the framework could help London deliver 558,000 homes by 2037 – averaging at 55,800 a year – subject to transport and community infrastructure, and support from national government.
While this would be an improvement on the current housing delivery rates, it still falls far short of the Government’s Standard Method which would require 85,000 net dwellings a year. HBF’s Mind the Gap report last year, found that housing supply in London has collapsed to a quarter of that requirement in recent years.
The plan keeps brownfield land as the priority for development – 90% of the future housing supply is expected on previously developed land - but it recognises that brownfield sites alone cannot meet London’s long-term housing needs. It therefore also proposes that limited areas of Green Belt land could be considered for release where they are well connected by public transport, and deliver clear public benefits, including affordable housing, biodiversity net gain and improved access to green space.
The draft London Plan also proposes a more flexible approach to Affordable Housing thresholds. Although the Mayor remains committed to a 50% Affordable Housing target, his ambition in the medium term is to return to a 35% threshold across London as market conditions improve. In the meantime, while market conditions remain difficult, the draft plan sets location-specific targets of 35%, 25% and 20% depending on likely sales values in each borough. The emergency measures announced by Government and the Mayor of London will also remain in play until the London Plan is adopted in 2028.
James Stevens, Director for Cities at the Home Builders Federation, said: “The collapse of London’s housing supply presents a real threat to the capital’s economic and social prospects. While the Mayor’s focus on improving the viability of new housing is encouraging, we are yet to see action from policy makers of the scale and urgency needed to address this crisis.
“Affordable Housing delivery is inextricably linked to private housing supply with residential developers responsible for some 30% of all affordable homes built each year. However, recent policies combined with additional taxation on new homes, onerous processes to get higher-rise schemes approved and challenging market conditions have effectively made London a no-go zone for housing investment.
“Housing starts in London are at alarmingly-low levels and have been for some time. An urgent overhaul of housing policy is now critical to supporting the housing needs of all Londoners – particularly the capital’s first-time buyers who face the biggest barriers to home ownership in the country.
“We look forward to engaging constructively through the consultation to ensure the Mayor’s positive intentions translate into accelerated delivery on the ground.”