The Mayor of London has launched his Draft London Housing Strategy, which promises to deliver new funding of more than £1 billion to deliver 45,000 additional low cost homes.
The draft strategy also includes:
- A minimum new 42,000 homes annual target in the capital
- Expanding the FIRST STEPS programme to help a quarter of a million Londoners to own their first home
- A commitment to purpose-built private rented buildings, with a target of 5,000 per annum
- Setting up Housing Zones to accelerate house building in opportunity areas
- The creation of a London Housing Bank to speed up building on large sides, with a discussion paper to be published by the GLA in 2014
- The strategy also includes a renewed call for stamp duty to be devolved to London, to help fund house building.
The Mayor of London, Boris Johnson said:
"For over thirty years, regardless of boom and bust, governments of every hue have failed to build enough homes. With London's unprecedented population growth, housing supply and affordability is now our biggest challenge and we need to double the number of homes being built.
"This requires a radical shift in how we prioritise housing to ensure we do not compromise our economic growth, and a collective effort from City Hall, government, and industry to treat housing as an essential infrastructure.
"We are overseeing the largest release of public land for a generation to ensure we maximize housing supply. We'll have delivered 100,000 new low cost homes but we won't stop there.
"The new funding and plans today will ensure thousands more hard working Londoners are helped with homes over the next decade, together with a raft of new and innovative ideas to unlock finance and the huge potential to develop new homes and communities across the capital "
The Deputy Mayor of Housing and Property, Richard Blakeway said:
"Housing is a critical issue for all major global cities from Paris to New York and Hong Kong. At City Hall we have a strong track record in helping 50,000 Londoners buy their own homes and we're on track to deliver 100,000 low cost homes. But this alone won't solve the housing demand. We need rolling programmes of investment joining up housing and transport, and the backing of all major players to really solve the issue in London. From introducing housing zones, launching a housing bank and pumping more funding into low cost homes, our draft housing strategy has dynamic solutions to London's housing needs, and we look forward to seeing everyone's views during the consultation."
