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London loses out in £925m plan to kickstart house building
Mira Bar-Hillel, Property Correspondent28.07.09
Ministers are to divert hundreds of millions of pounds to housing projects outside the capital.
The Government wants work to re-start on 270 stalled housing sites around Britain where up to 22,400 homes could be built. Housing minister John Healey has announced £925million for the Kickstart scheme. But fewer than a tenth of the sites are in London and the maximum number of new homes in the capital, if all the sites qualify, will be under 3,000.
The lack of funding for London will increase concerns that scarce housing resources are being concentrated in other parts of the country.
The Mayor's housing adviser, Richard Blakeway, said: "This is another example of funding being directed to the North and Midlands to meet national short-term targets rather than delivering affordable housing in areas with the acutest housing need. It is London, with three times more households in temporary accommodation than the rest of England put together, that the Government needs to help."
Developers seeking grants in London include Berkeley Homes, Barratt, Bellway, Ballymore and Taylor Wimpey. The sites are mostly in outer boroughs, but include developments in Wandsworth, Southwark and Lambeth. All the chosen projects will now go through a final assessment, with a view to construction starting this year.
The scheme is designed to unlock sites halted by the credit crunch. It was announced in this year's Budget and expanded last month in the Building Britain's Future announcement.
Less than a fifth of the funding would go to grants for developers and only firms which have accepted a realistic market price for land will be eligible. The rest of the money will go to housing associations for affordable housing and loans will be expected to be repaid within five years.
Mr Healey said: "This billion-pound Kickstart programme will get stalled building work back on track This is not a handout to developers. There are tough terms to this deal."
Reader views (3)
One could not expect anything else from this corrupt Government. Taxpayers' money made available to please their own voter base.
If the Tories used the same cynical logic in choosing who to hand out our money to, they would have to cut benefits paid to the idle scroungers. Labour would just shout "uncaring", alas.
- Harry H, London UK
22,400 homes for more asylum refugees/immigrants & EU migrants. oh dear oh dear.
- Grim Reaper, Hell
"It is London, with three times more households in temporary accommodation than the rest of England put together, that the Government needs to help."
Why? I can only assume that they don't work, hence the temporary accomodation, so why can't we move them outside of London to cheaper more plentiful accomodation? Why do they need to live here? Free up the housing and give it to people who work for a living.
- Bob, Cheam
