Standard "housing patterns" could speed up planning, says consultant

The London Popular Home Initiative aims to develop standardised "housing patterns" with councils, which would be eligible to be considered under a fast-tracked or automatic planning process. The proposals are due to be presented to the Mayor of London Boris Johnson at the end of the month.

Urban Initiatives is working with five London Boroughs, two contractors and three social housing providers to identify new ways of delivering more housing across the capital.

"The London Popular Home Initiative will aim to open up the housing market to a wider range of players and to speed up the planning process," Urban Initiative said.

"We know that 325,000 new homes are needed for London by 2025, construction costs for housing are 40% higher than our mainland European counterparts and there has been a 50% loss in housing capacity in recent years," said Kelvin Campbell, director of Urban Initiatives, in an interview with EGi.

The initiative questions the current approach of "reinventing the wheel" when it comes to housing design and seeks to "get the benefits of replicability without sacrificing design quality".

Campbell has suggested using a "pattern book" to speed up the planning process and make building homes cheaper.

The London Popular Home Initiative said that the "pattern book" would contain plans of standard house designs which could be agreed with councils. These would be eligible for a fast track planning application, or would be the subject of a local development order, meaning that permission would not be required, it said.

Urban Initiatives has worked with the London Boroughs of Brent, Bexley, Ealing, Newham and Waltham Forest, developers Bouygues, United House and First Base and social landlords Notting Hill Housing, Places for People and Gallions Housing Association on the plans.