Thousands of new homes could be built in London by adding two storeys on to the rooftops of existing public buildings, Zac Goldsmith said today.
The Tory mayoral candidate pledged a full audit of municipal buildings, including Jobcentres, council offices, fire stations and libraries, to see where development could take place.
Figures from his campaign suggested that if town halls in the capital added extra levels to all their suitable buildings about 140,000 new homes could be built.
The rooftops would be added to the London Land Commission — the “Domesday Book” of public sector land — in the hope of easing the housing crisis.
The proposals come after the Government released a consultation last week to consider allowing Londoners to build upwards where it was in keeping with the area.
One option was to add extra storeys to residential buildings, shops and offices, up to the height of an adjoining roofline.
Mr Goldsmith said: “I’m standing up for future generations to ensure they can afford to grow up in and contribute to the greatest city on earth.
“My solution is to work with Government and councils to deliver the homes Londoners need, and take advantage of the huge opportunities that are just in reach.”
New developments would not be allowed to exceed the two-level limit and no new storeys would be permitted on top of existing buildings on council estates under his plans.
They would give councils the freedom to spread the construction of additional homes over their borough, and could avoid the need for tower blocks and skyscrapers.
A report produced by the London School of Economics last year finding that 59,000 homes must be built in the capital every year to meet demand.
Labour candidate Sadiq Khan has described the election for London Mayor in May as “a referendum on housing” and has pledged to set a target of 50 per cent of all new homes in the capital to be “genuinely” affordable.
Melanie Leech, chief executive of the British Property Federation, said the Government’s London-wide permitted development rights proposal would “not deliver an enormous amount of new homes” but could encourage “innovation and the more efficient use of space”.
She added: “Similar to office-to-residential permitted development rights, this is a policy that will show results in some areas, such as the outskirts of London, and be less helpful in others.
“Central London boroughs are unlikely to see much change as the number of listed buildings and conservation areas will prohibit large numbers of proposals coming forward, however, outer London boroughs could see a rise in new residential property.”
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