Mayor announces plans for 65,000 homes a year for London

29 Nov Mayor announces plans for 65,000 homes a year for London

The Mayor of London, Sadiq Khan, has launched a major housing policy in his new draft London plan. In his speech today at Barking Riverside he demonstrated his determination to get London building the affordable homes it needs by radically changing existing planning rules and removing outdated constraints and rigid density guidelines. Mr Khan has set an ambitious target of 50 per cent of all new homes built to be genuinely affordable, offering private developers a fast-track route to planning permission if they reach a minimum of 35 per cent. He went on to say “With London’s population expected to increase by 70,000 every year, reaching 10.8 million in 2041, it’s vital we properly plan for growth with new affordable homes in every area of the capital”.

The new Draft London Plan, is the capital’s strategic planning bible. The Mayor has set out how he will ask homebuilders to maximise the use of valuable land in the city – and that means developing sites with more homes on them than existing developments nearby that would have had to follow previous guidelines. He wants to increase the number of homes to be built on sites near town centres or good public transport, reducing the need for car parking spaces within developments, and planning applications that don’t align should be refused.

The new policy also emphasises the importance of good design and will be applicable to buildings of all types, including low-rise, medium and high-rise. This new approach is supported by a far stronger policy on housing standards, including minimum space standards, which sets out how a home should be designed.

Further targets have been set for councils across the capital, as part of an overall London Plan figure of 65,000 homes a year – roughly double the current rate of homebuilding. For the first time, targets in the Plan show how capacity can also be reached on small sites, which must now make a significant contribution to housing supply. The Mayor believes there is capacity for 24,500 homes a year on London’s small sites – typically those between one and 25 homes – and asks boroughs to approve applications for small developments unless they do not meet his strict design standards.

The draft London plan officially starts it’s three month consultation period this Friday.