You are viewing 1 of your 1 free articles
Government ‘should approve 15 new towns around London for millennials’
The government could provide at least 450,000 new homes by giving the go-ahead to build 15 new towns aimed at millennials in London’s commuter belt, according to a new report by Policy Exchange.
The right-of-centre thinktank said that ministers should establish a new ‘department for growth’, which could work with the mayor of London and partner directly with developers to build new settlements with discounted homeownership aimed at younger people.
The report suggested that this would curb the so-called ‘nimbyism’ of some councils on the edge of the capital, which refuse to take housing growth in their area.
It will also relieve acute housing demand in London by allowing more people to benefit from new transport infrastructure such as Crossrail, which will allow people to commute more quickly into London.
The report, co-authored by Richard Blakeway, former deputy mayor for housing, planning and property, warned that current government plans to increase housing supply in and around the capital will fall short of need.
READ MORE
Instead, to achieve a housebuilding programme of the scale needed, the report suggested that 15 new towns containing around 30,000 homes each could be built along major transport routes that extend out of London.
In order to do this, the government should release green belt land, offer council tax discounts for those impacted by the new development, and set up development corporations to lead the delivery of the new homes.
The report also suggested amending the National Planning Policy Framework to allow for the creation of strategic plans with statutory status written for the five growth corridors that extend out of London.
Lord Simon Wolfson, chief executive of Next, who wrote a foreword for the report, said: “Our planning system is simply not delivering enough homes and our leaders dare not change the status quo. Despite the abundant rhetoric nothing changes, [and] inertia slowly robs the next generation of the homes it deserves.
“Much greater ambition is needed by all levels of government in dealing with the undersupply of homes in London and the South East.”
According to official data, housing costs in London increased by 45% between 2011 and 2015 – around four times more than the rest of the UK.
Figures from the Valuation Office Agency show that between 2000 and 2018, just 258,000 homes were built in inner London, 194,000 were built in outer London and 144,000 were built in local authorities on the edge of London.
In the same period London’s population increased by more than 1.5 million people and the number of jobs increased by more than 1.2 million.
