Zac Goldsmith pledges to create more homes for Londoners by clamping down on build delays

Rex
Pippa Crerar4 December 2015

Tory mayoral hopeful Zac Goldsmith today pledged to unlock London’s house-building logjam and create thousands more homes.

He said he would immediately publish details of all homes schemes that were held up — with a review of the most difficult — if he is elected.

There are around 10 times more homes that have received planning permission in the capital than are actually being built.

Many are being held up by “land-banking”, where major housing developers sit on prime land until its value goes up.

Mayor Boris Johnson has previously threatened developers with compulsory purchase orders unless they start building, warning they are contributing to the housing crisis.

Mr Goldsmith said he would change the London Plan to shorten the time before a housing development must start on site, from three years to two.

There would be an independent “new homes challenge panel” to review stalled schemes and recommend how to unlock them. He would also introduce a public monitoring “traffic light” system on the City Hall website to track progress, with stalled schemes being given an amber then red warning.

He said: “My priority as Mayor will be to start fixing London’s housing crisis. A crucial part of this plan is to unlock the homes that already have planning permission, but are not being delivered. If elected, I will use all the powers at the Mayor’s disposal and my record of working with Government and councils to get things moving as a matter of urgency.”

There are 200,000 new homes with planning permission across London but only around 25,000 are being built every year.

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