Capital 'failing' on housing
18 September 2007
The majority of London boroughs are failing to build enough affordable housing despite widespread need, Shelter has revealed.
Mayor Ken Livingstone has said that half of all new London homes must be affordable, with the majority of these being social rented homes, but only a handful of the 33 London councils are meeting their targets.
Figures highlighted by Shelter show that in the last three years just five London councils have ensured 50% or more of new housing in their area has been affordable, with some councils providing as little as 12%.
Almost 60,000 homeless households are stuck in temporary accommodation in the capital and over 200,000 households are trapped in overcrowded housing.
The amount of building by councils is at odds with the London Plan, which sets out annual targets for the development of new London homes. The plan states that 50% of new homes in London must be affordable, with 70% of these social housing for rent. The Mayor is expected to reinforce these targets in his Draft Housing Strategy, which is launched on 18 September.
Shelter chief executive Adam Sampson said: 'London is now the most expensive place to buy a property in Britain. It is vital councils meet the targets set for affordable housing if hard working Londoners are to have any chance of securing a decent home in the capital.'
Shelter recently held a public debate on the capital's housing crisis with a panel of housing experts, including Jon Cruddas MP and Cllr Stephen Greenhalgh, Conservative Leader of Hammersmith and Fullham. At the end of the debate, the audience voted overwhelmingly in favour of the motion '50% of all new homes in the capital should be affordable.'
Mr Sampson added; ' With London at the sharp end of the housing crisis, our audience vote showed that most Londoners believe the only way to address the capital's housing crisis is to meet the targets for affordable housing set by the Mayor in his plan.'
The London councils with the best and worst records
The five best
- Hammersmith and Fulham - 82%
- Haringey - 63%
- Waltham Forest - 54%
- Barking and Dagenham - 54%
- Ealing - 52%
The five worst
- Wandsworth - 12%
- Bexley - 15%
- Kingston upon Thames - 16%
- Greenwich - 17%
- Havering - 17%