Woman who could be mayor in 2004 also reveals support for suspension of right to buy
London’s deputy mayor has admitted the London Plan target of 23,000 homes to be built each year is insufficient and must be increased.

Nicky Gavron, who is seeking the Labour party nomination for the 2004 round of mayoral elections, also told Housing Today she backed the suspension of the right to buy in high-demand areas.

“I would support suspending the right to buy in London while we investigated it, to ensure housing remains affordable,” she said.

Gavron added that, were she to gain the Labour nomination, she “would push straight away to get more affordable housing and more housing full stop – I really want us to be going for much higher than 23,000”.

Gavron said unexpectedly large rises in homes on “windfall” sites, such as redundant hospitals and above petrol stations, had raised the capacity of London boroughs.

She said: “This growth is making the 23,000 figure look like a minimum rather than a maximum. But you can’t raise the 23,000 target unless you have done an urban capacity study.

You also have to agree benchmark figures with boroughs and we’re doing this now as part of a methodology proposals study.”

The Greater London Authority has commissioned research on the amount of housing boroughs can deliver, for an urban capacity study to conclude by 2005. Gavron said changes would be made to the 23,000 target then, but that in the meantime the GLA would push for more than this amount each year.

The GLA is also set to publish a report on available sites for development across London, at the end of this month.

Other policies Gavron would be keen to pursue include expanding the use of sustainable housing projects such as Peabody’s BedZed scheme in south London.

Source

Housing Today