Budget 2015: chancellor proposes devolving more housing powers to London mayor

The mayor of London's office said that the government plans to consult on releasing nine wharves from safeguarding and devolving the powers over the wharves to the mayor.

Osborne said that "London is the global capital of the world, and we want it to grow stronger still". He announced £97 million in funding for a regeneration plan for Brent Cross proposed by the London Borough of Barnet and Greater London Authority's (GLA). The government said it would ring fence the local 50% share of business rate growth for the project.

The regeneration plan includes building a new station, increasing the size of the current shopping centre by 4.9 million square feet and providing 7,500 new homes. It is claimed that this will also create 27,000 jobs for the area.

Osborne also announced that £7m would be allocated to support the development in Croydon Growth Zone. The mayor said he recognised Croydon as an important area for "housing and economic growth in London" as it holds major transport links to important areas. The additional £7m financial contribution is intended to create 10,000 jobs and a further 4,000 new homes, the government said.

As well as announcing financial support to London developments, the government also confirmed the creation of the London Land Commission (LLC). It said the aim of the LLC was to ensure that surplus public sector land and brownfield sites are used for development. The GLA has already released 90% of its land that can be developed. The government said the £1m allocated to the LLC in the Budget would allow it to create a comprehensive database of available relevant land.

The government also announced last week that £50m of funding would be used to create two new housing zones in Waltham Forest and Wembley, bringing the total number of housing zones in the capital to 11. The two new housing zones are expected to create a combined total of 4,857 homes, with 1,490 of these being affordable properties.

The mayor welcomed the proposals, saying they showed that the government "fully understand the extraordinary potential of London, and that they share our goal of ensuring the capital remains fit to power the UK economy for decades to come.”

“By investing in schemes that will speed up the building of hundreds of thousands of new houses, deliver vital new transport improvements and generate thousands of new jobs we are able to forge ahead with plans that will benefit hard-working Londoners in every part of the capital and help safeguard our city’s prosperity,” the mayor said.

Planning expert Jennifer Holgate of Pinsent Masons, the law firm behind Out-Law.com, said: "The creation of two new housing zones, combined with further commitments to expenditure by the government on large regeneration schemes in and around London show a clear desire to face starkly the housing shortages of the capital."

"Nonetheless, when Osborne described London as the 'global capital of the world' that needs to 'grow stronger still', it is of key importance that the next government fully integrate long term investment in London’s transport planning with those targeted areas for housing growth," she said. "Particularly, schemes must be carefully assessed and designed to complement schemes such as airport expansion and Crossrail 2, rather than react to forecast growth."