London mayor goals to construct on inexperienced belt to repair housing disaster

Sir Sadiq Khan is to announce plans to “actively discover” constructing on a few of London’s inexperienced belt in a bid to repair the capital’s housing disaster.

The Mayor of London is anticipated to make use of a speech in Greenwich later to argue “the established order is unsuitable, out-of-date and easily unsustainable”, with a technology of Londoners unable to lease or purchase a house.

Below the proposals, London’s planners will look to launch some inexperienced belt land, with circumstances on inexpensive housing, vitality effectivity, transport hyperlinks and selling entry to inexperienced areas.

Susan Corridor, chief of the Metropolis Corridor Conservatives, mentioned: “It is a mayor who will sacrifice London’s valuable inexperienced areas to appease his Labour paymasters.”

The announcement marks a change in stance for Sir Sadiq, who has beforehand argued in opposition to releasing inexperienced belt land whereas there are nonetheless beforehand developed brownfield websites out there.

Whereas the mayor is anticipated to proceed prioritising brownfield land, he’s anticipated to inform his viewers on Friday: “We’ve got to be trustworthy with Londoners that this alone won’t be sufficient to fulfill our wants.”

The announcement comes as Sir Sadiq launches a session on an up to date London Plan – which can set out a method for growth within the capital over the subsequent 20 years.

London has a brand new goal of constructing 88,000 new houses a 12 months, however the present plan, which depends on constructing on brownfield websites, is delivering solely round 40,000 a 12 months.

In the meantime, rents in London rose by 11.5% final 12 months and councils are spending £4m a day on momentary lodging amid rising homelessness.

Metropolis Corridor has already begun a evaluation of inexperienced belt land according to the federal government’s coverage of constructing extra on low-quality components of the inexperienced belt, so-called “gray belt” land.

However Friday’s announcement is anticipated to go additional, investigating different prospects for securing sufficient land to fulfill London’s housing wants.

Sir Sadiq will say: “The inexperienced belt can typically be low-quality land, poorly maintained and infrequently loved by Londoners. Solely round 13% is made up of parks and areas that the general public can entry.

“Improvement on fastidiously chosen components of the inexperienced belt – executed in the appropriate manner – would enable us to unlock a whole bunch of hundreds of good-quality new houses for Londoners.”

The federal government has welcomed the transfer, with Deputy Prime Minister Angela Rayner calling it a “daring proposal” that “rises to the problem of tackling London’s housing disaster”.

BBC London’s political editor Karl Mercer mentioned the plans might put the mayor on a collision course with a number of outer London Conservative boroughs, like Bexley, Bromley, Hillingdon and Croydon – all 4 refused to participate within the mayor’s evaluation of the inexperienced belt earlier this 12 months.

It additionally comes only a 12 months earlier than council elections within the capital when all 32 boroughs go to the polls.

Claire Holland, chief of Lambeth Council and chairwoman of London Councils, has backed the proposal.

She mentioned: “London is grappling with the worst housing pressures within the nation and there’s a determined must construct new houses, significantly extra inexpensive houses.”

Ben Twomey, chief govt of marketing campaign group Technology Hire, mentioned: “When housing prices are forcing too many people into poverty and homelessness, it’s proper that the mayor units out his ambition to construct the houses we want, together with in components of the inexperienced belt the place applicable.”

Countryside charity CPRE opposes the plans. Its head of campaigns, Alice Roberts, mentioned: “Constructing on inexperienced belt cannot resolve the housing disaster.

“There are 300,000 planning permissions on the market for houses that have not but been constructed.

“We predict when you launch inexperienced belt, you are failing to construct those already deliberate.”

Andrew Boff, from the Metropolis Corridor Conservatives, added: “The mayor has repeatedly stood within the London Meeting chamber and given categorical assurances that he would shield London’s inexperienced belt.

“This announcement is a whole betrayal of these guarantees and exhibits utter contempt for Londoners who treasure these important inexperienced areas.”

David Simmonds, Conservative MP for Ruislip, Northwood and Pinner and shadow minister for Housing, Communities and Native Authorities mentioned: “The mayor ought to be seeking to convey ahead these houses that have already got planning permission within the capital quite than opening up the inexperienced belt, as a result of as soon as that’s gone, it is gone without end, and it is a vitally necessary asset for current and future Londoners.”

Further reporting by BBC London’s political editor Karl Mercer and Lauren Stanley