The Mayor of London Sadiq Khan has been ordered to change London’s plan to meet housing targets after his leadership “has led to worsening affordability for Londoners” according to a scathing letter, the UK’s secretary of state for housing.
Robert Jenrick, secretary of state for Housing, Communities and Local Government, slammed the London Mayor for failing to deliver on targets outlined in the new plan.
Mr Jenrick wrote: “Housing delivery in London under your mayoralty has been deeply disappointing,” He pointed out that the average delivery of 37,000 homes annually falls short of existing need and the target of 52,000 homes laid out in the mayor’s proposed London Plan.
“Clearly, the housing delivery shortfall you have overseen has led to worsening affordability for Londoners; and things are not improving, with housing starts falling a further 28% last year compared to the previous,” Jenrick wrote.
Jenrick directs changes in the forthcoming London Plan, including making use of vacant industrial land, consider building in London’s Green Belt “very special circumstances,” and promote higher density developments “in areas that are well connected to jobs, services, infrastructure and amenities by public transport, walking and cycling.”
Mayor Khan will now have to produce a revised London Plan taking in 11 sections of changes Jenrick lays out before it will be approved.
Andrew Southern, chairman of property developer Southern Grove, said in response to the letter: “Robert Jenrick is showing he means business, just a day after he told developers they need to be building higher, and over key transport links, which is what we’ve said all along,
“What the industry, and Londoners, want now though is for politicians in central and devolved government singing from the same hymn sheet,” Southern notes. “The housing crisis is too big a problem not to be a cross-party issue.”
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