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Green London mayor candidate vows to set up ‘people’s land commission’ if elected
The co-leader of the Green Party has said she will set up a commission to empower Londoners to govern the best use of land in the capital if elected as mayor in May.
London boroughs would be supported to bring together professionals, experts, residents and community groups to chart their local areas and bring new life to under-used buildings and plots of land, under proposals being brought forward by London mayoral candidate Sian Berry.
Ms Berry has also pledged to lobby central government for a “Community Right to Buy”, which will enshrine a right of first refusal for a local community group to buy any land or property which goes on sale in a given location.
It would be similar to the Community Right to Buy laws that exist in Scotland, which allow locals to register interest in a piece of land in order to be given the opportunity to buy it when it comes up for sale.
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If elected, Ms Berry said she will also support local areas with funding to purchase land, including through grants, revolving funds or borrowing that is financed from rents and income resulting from new businesses and homes.
Compulsory purchase orders will also be more widely used when necessary, she said. A similar land commission has been set up in Liverpool by its mayor. The commission seeks to review the use of land for community wealth building and comprises roughly 12 individuals, the majority of which are directors and chief executives.
The London mayoral elections are set to take place in May.
Ms Berry said: “I will put power back into the hands of Londoners by setting up a people’s land commission.
“Together, we will go out into our city and find land to use for the things which actually matter and which build the resilience we need not only to get through this crisis but to be stronger when we face the next challenges in our city.
“The people’s land commission will empower boroughs, councillors, local people and businesses to map their areas and put forward ideas to use land for new homes, green spaces, community infrastructure and businesses from the ground up.
“The huge responses from people on the ground, from all walks of life, to the climate and ecological emergency and the coronavirus crisis, has shown the potential for local action and local ideas. These can be helped to fly with the new levers and new agency a Green mayor will provide.
“There are groups meeting every week in all parts of London looking at these issues in detail with ideas that we in City Hall must help to make happen.”
