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More than 33,000 affordable homes ‘lost’ as London boroughs miss affordable targets

Missing planning targets set by previous London mayor Boris Johnson has resulted in a shortfall of more than 33,000 affordable homes in the capital, new research has claimed.

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More than 33,000 affordable homes lost as London boroughs miss targets #ukhousing

Sian Berry, assembly member for the Green Party, who commissioned a report on housing in London, has called on Sadiq Khan to “get tougher with boroughs” or risk more affordable homes not being built.

The research found that 153,232 homes had gained planning permission in the city since January 2016; under the London Plan, 40%, or 61,296, of these should have been affordable.

But London boroughs have secured just 27,869 affordable homes through planning agreements, which means more than 33,000 potential affordable homes have been lost.

Tower Hamlets emerged as the borough which has missed out on the most affordable homes at 2,281, having secured an average number of affordable homes of just 23% of the total being built.


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Within the London Plan, ‘affordable’ is defined as any home which falls below 80% of market rent. Current policy suggests that social housing should make up 24% of new developments, but the research found that only 7,451, less than 5%, were secured through planning in the past two years.

Ms Berry said missing out on affordable homes was “a continuing betrayal”.

“In just two years, people who could fill a small town are being deprived of the chance to rent a home they can afford. I found hundreds of no-show homes in every borough, promised by policy but replaced when developments are signed off by luxury flats no-one on a normal wage could possibly own,” she said.

Developers are entitled to reduce affordable housing contributions through a system known as ‘viability testing’.

This enables them to argue for lower affordable housing quotas if they can show their profits would dip below 20% through the inclusion of more affordable housing.

The government is currently shaking up the viability system amid crticism with many London boroughs now demanding developers make previously secret assessments to support their claims public.

Mr Khan has instituted a system which fast tracks developments of more than 10 homes through the planning system if they deliver 35% affordable.

Listen to our podcast below on whether Sadiq Khan is delivering on housing:

The report said this new ‘fast track’ supplementary planning policy, which was instituted in August 2017, had not yet significantly increased the overall proportion of affordable homes in the planning process.

Figures showed that in the four quarters before the policy came into force, the average number of affordable homes in a development was 18.25%. After it began, the four quarter average was 20.75%.

Ms Green will question the mayor at Thursday’s Question Time meeting.

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