Mayor to check Gateway plan meets needs of BME groups

The government’s plan to build 200,000 homes in the Thames Gateway is to be tested by London mayor Ken Livingstone to see if it meets the needs of the black and minority ethnic groups that are likely to live there.

The London Development Agency, which reports to Livingstone, will use an “impact assessment” developed by the Commission for Racial Equality, CRE chair Trevor Phillips said.

Phillips was speaking last Thursday at an event run by homelessness charity Shelter as part of its investigation into poor housing.

At the event, the charity also unveiled research that showed one in five children in London lives in overcrowded conditions.

Phillips said: “The plans for the expansion of London have to be properly impact-assessed for race so we build mixed communities but the right sort of mixed communities. We may find something that, broadly speaking, should be good for everybody would not be good for some groups.”

The CRE assessment looks at demographic predictions of which ethnic groups are likely to live in the Gateway and works out what type of housing and public services they would need.

For example, some have large families and need big homes while others have higher than average instances of heart disease so would need hospitals with coronary expertise.

The move was welcomed by Tony Newman, chair of housing at the Association of London Government. “We must build a Thames Gateway that is sustainable for all London communities,” he said.

Phillips also hit out at councillors who use the need to house asylum seekers as an excuse for delays in housing other families.

The Shelter housing investigation is being chaired by Fiona Millar, a journalist and a former adviser to Cherie Blair. It has highlighted the damaging effects that long spells in temporary accommodation can have on families, including delayed child development and mental and physical illness.

As part of the campaign, Millar visited Somali refugee Nuura Mohamed and her two children Yusef, 2, and Bashir, five months. The three share one room in a hostel for homeless families in Camden, north London.

Mohamed was told she could expect to wait up to five years for a permanent home.

Shelter’s probe will also look at rural homes, the disparity between those at the top and bottom of the housing ladder and low demand.