Mayor admits homes goal will be missed
Boris Johnson’s target to get 50,000 affordable homes built in London has been put back a year because of economic conditions.
The London mayor’s deputy for policy and planning, Sir Simon Milton, has told the London Assembly that the target will now be met by 2012.
The mayor scrapped his predecessor Ken Livingstone’s rule that 50 per cent of all new developments should be affordable, but instead promised to set individual boroughs targets that would result in 50,000 new affordable homes by 2011.
This has proved difficult, with the initial agreements falling 10,000 homes short of the pledge. In July David Lunts, the London director at the Homes and Communities Agency, warned that the target would be missed without further investment.
Sir Simon said Mr Johnson is ‘confident’ he will now meet the target by 2012, with the extra homes being a combination of new builds and acquired properties.
Jenny Jones, chair of the London Assembly Planning and Housing Committee, said: ‘We welcome today’s confirmation that the 50,000 affordable homes target will be met, but we regret the delay.
‘The mayor must do his utmost to ensure this important target will not be affected by any further delays.’
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Readers' comments (2)
Dave Hollins | 03/12/2009 5:18 pm
If Gordon Brown misses a target because of the world recession the Tories still say its all his fault. By the same token, Boris Johnson's mustn't be allowed to get away with excuses for his own failure - he is responsible for missing the London housing targets. His policies have been a disaster and they haven't had their full impact yet. Reducing the requirement for affordable homes and letting people like Greenhalgh in Hammersmith delete affordable housing from schemes in their borough is all down to Johnson. It gives us a clue as to what life will be like when Grant Shapps is in charge.
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Jim Paton | 03/12/2009 10:51 pm
Well, it was only an election pledge. He got elected. Served it purpose at the time, rather like last year's diary.
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