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Minister: Thousands more cheap homes
Pippa Crerar, Political Correspondent19 Oct 2007
Thousands more people will be able to get on the property ladder in London as a result of a £3.9 billion cash injection, the Evening Standard's key debate on housing has heard.
Ken Livingstone's chief aide on the issue told the Influentials Debate that more than 55,000 affordable homes - 5,000 more than expected - would be built in the next three years.
The extra building was possible after Housing Minister Yvette Cooper pledged £3.9 billion for housing in the capital between next year and 2011 - £600,000 more than the Mayor had been expecting from the Comprehensive Spending Review.
Neale Coleman, the Mayor's policy director for housing, said: "We're going to see a very, very substantial increase in the amount of money available for new homes in London.
"The land is there, the money is in place, the effect of Yvette's announcement is that we now have the funding not to do 50,000, but to do 55,000." As well as building more affordable homes - which will help first-time buyers and key workers - the Mayor is expected to improve existing social housing.
At the debate at the Royal Society of Arts, Ms Cooper admitted many people faced "very serious problems" with housing, in part caused by a lack of building over a generation.
"[Housebuilding] is now at the highest level since 1990 but there's still not enough to keep up with the rising demand and London clearly faces the most acute pressure," she said.
Continues below...
Video from the debate
1. Introduction - Introduction to the Influentials Debate: Who Can Solve London's Housing Crisis?
Introduced by Veronica Wadley, Evening Standard Editor - includes a background to: the debates and the 1000 Magazine.
2. The Panel - Introduction to the panel by Jonathan Freedland, columnist for the Evening Standard and Guardian. Panel consists of: Minister for Housing - Yvette Cooper MP, Leading architect -Sir Terry Farrell,Property developer - Nigel Hugil, Director of the Architecture Foundation - Rowan Moore, Director of Business Planning and Regeneration GLA - Neale Coleman, Former mayoral candidate - Steven Norris
3. Q: Is there a housing crisis? - Question posed by Raj Chada - former leader of Camden Council: Does the panel accept that there is a housing crisis? Answers from each panel member including debate on: considering people at the sharp end of the crisis in temporary accomodation or homeless/the shortage of homes being built in London/the inequalities within London between the wealthy and those living in poverty/the need to build affordable homes/levels of high unemployment/the urban arrangement of houses/the crisis in the decision making process/problems revolving around the planning process and the quality crisis in terms of standards of building and density.
4. Q: Who can solve the housing crisis? - Looking at who can solve the crisis. Comment from audience member Nick Green: private sector house prices should be linked to inflation. Plus, looking at how the crisis came about including comment on the selling off of national stock through the Right to Buy scheme.
5. Right to buy/affordable housing - Comment inc: what resources can be spent on affordable homes/limiting the number of Right to Buy homes and increases to the commitment of affordable housing.
6. The housing output - Comment by Neale Coleman including: institutional capital/affordability within the buying and rental sector/reducing rental charges across the market.
7. Response from Yvette Cooper - Comment from Yvette Cooper inc: the importance of building national, regional and local partnerships to support the mayor's strategy/speeding up the planning process and problems with residents blocking applications.
8. Developments - Comment from audience members and panellists inc: population growth, alternatives to a central Government solution, the 'not in my backyard' problem, incentivising local communities for developments, the statutory planning charge and support for councils who encourage developments.
9. Immigration Levels - Question from Evening Standard columnist Anne McElvoy on immigration, reply inc: pressures on London/prosperity attracting more people/a global city/ social infrastructure and local communities benefitting from developments.
10a. Q&A from Coin Street resident - Q&A from a Coin Street resident and the panellists on the community and plans to build a major new community and leisure centre. With reference to Andrew Gilligan's article in the Evening Standard.
10b. Density - Comment from Sir Terry Farrell on density in London inc: revisiting current perceptions and suitable locations.
11. Response from Stephen Norris - Comment from Stephen Norris inc: the Green Belt, high street development and the planning process.
12. Closing Thoughts - Closing thoughts from the panel inc: cost of housing, rises in house prices, standard of design and affordable housing levels.
13. Q: Should there have been an election? - The panellists give their opinion on whether they think that there should there have been a general election.
... continued from above
However, former Conservative candidate for mayor, Steve Norris, argued the lack of building was caused in part by the "sclerotic" planning-system, which he described as the enemy of developers. He suggested constructing more high-density housing.
He also attacked Mr Livingstone's target of making 50 per cent of homes in new developments affordable, claiming it prevented developers building any houses at all.
The panel agreed migration should be taken into account in planning decisions - the capital is expected to grow by a million people by 2020.
Mr Norris said: "You have a choice whether you accept a city the size of Leeds will descend on London, or whether we should be doing something to prevent a situation that will damage not only those who live here now but those who will come here."
But Mr Coleman said migrants benefited the capital's economy. "To and pretend we can erect barriers would not only be morally wrong but damaging to all of us," he said.
Related items
The 1000: Who are the most influential people in London?
London's most influential: Running London
London's most influential: Property
Even influentials fear house price rises
For information on YouGovStone click here
Reader views (2)
My wife recently worked for a housing trust, many of these developments are unoccupied as key workers don't want to be seen as charity cases and refuse the properties (the standards of which took my breath away - my own house would not meet the standards they build to). To hear that they want to develop more is yet more dogma over common sense and reality.
- Paul, London, 17/10/2007 13:38
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I am pleased to see this but as an expectant father and advice worker with a teacher partner, I feel prices of part rent/buy are too high and so are the so called affordable ones. I hope Neal Coleman considers this in the plans to increase affordability. Why am I not a key worker? Actually far more are in London when you consider the kind of problems that exist here.
- Gary Martin, London, UK, 17/10/2007 13:33
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