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London Mayor's strategy promises 55,000 new affordable homes


The Mayor of London Boris Johnson unveiled plans for the building of 55,000 new affordable homes before 2015 at the launch of the consultation on the Mayor's revised London Housing Strategy (60-page/922KB PDF) yesterday.

The consultation focuses on devolving power from central Government and including local communities in decisions that affect them; detail of the new Mayoral housing powers conferred by the Localism Act; new space and design standards, and contains details of a number of stalled housing schemes the Mayor plans to progress.

London’s first statutory housing strategy was published in February 2010. It aimed to outline the Mayor’s vision for housing in London and included proposals to boost home ownership  and sought to improve homes and maximise efficiency of the system. The new document is an updated version of the strategy.

The Government is now "on track" to deliver 50,000 new affordable homes by April 2012, which is a "record", according to Johnson. He announced the strategy speaking to the National Housing Federation.

The consultation includes plans to create a new London Overcrowding Board with London boroughs aimed at "improving the Londoners' experience of housing". The new Board would be responsible for tackling overcrowding and reducing under-occupation by improving policies and making better use of existing stock and helping to build affordable homes.

The Mayor included detail on design and space standards in the consultation and has pledged to ensure that 36% of new affordable rented homes allocated funding between 2011 and 2015 will be family-sized. Johnson said he wanted to improve the design standards and quality of new homes.

Johnson would create a new "London rental standard" which would explore the potential for products that enable households to ‘rent to save’ and would aim to improve the standards of the private rented sector. Under the scheme the Mayor will introduce a single badge of accreditation for London’s landlords and lettings and management agents, with the number of accredited landlords in the capital increasing to 100,000 by 2016.

To improve home ownership opportunities for Londoners, Johnson plans to extend the Government's First Steps programme and would work with the recently-announced mortgage indemnity scheme, the strategy said.

Stalled developments would be unlocked under Johnson's proposals by using a £3 billion funding settlement from the Government to invest in London's housing. Plans include restarting Greenwich Peninsula, the biggest development site in the UK, which could provide 2,000 new homes.

Housing and infrastructure must be more joined-up with wider and social and economic regeneration, the consultation said. Johnson has pledged to ensure that decisions on capital investment are made in partnership with local authorities, who can connect the decision with local employment and community initiatives.

Investment must also be aligned with the work of the London Enterprise Panel, the Mayoral Development Corporation and other initiatives such as the Royal Docks Enterprise Zone, Johnson said.

The Mayor will become directly responsible for strategic housing, regeneration and economic development in the capital from 1 April 2012, as set out in the Localism Act. The Act removes the legal restriction on the Mayor to spend money on housing, whilst removing the Homes and Communities Agency's power in the capital. The Act also abolishes the London Development Agency (LDA) and transfers its regeneration functions to the Greater London Authority (GLA).

Johnson's plans include the creation of a new London housing Board (LHB), to replace the HCA's London functions. The LHB would include an equal membership of Mayoral appointees and borough representatives, and would oversee housing investment and delivery in the capital.

The London Housing Board would contribute to the London Housing Strategy and the Mayor’s housing investment and business plan, and would monitor the delivery of the housing programme. It would advise the Mayor on risks relating to housing delivery, and the Board’s views would be sought on GLA land and property holdings being brought forward for housing and on any major changes in investment programmes.

Johnson has also pledged to continue to lobby the Government for a "fair share" of its £400m ‘Get Britain Building’ scheme, which is at restarting building on stalled developments and to continue to explore new forms of funding for housing delivery, such as long term institutional investment and equity funding.

The consultation is open for 12 weeks and closes on 6 March 2012.

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