A split has emerged between London mayor Ken Livingstone and his deputy, Nicky Gavron, over the proportion of social housing to be included in the Greenwich peninsula development, which includes the Millennium Dome
Gavron is understood to be happy with the 35% figure planned by development company Meridian, but Livingstone is not backing down on his demand for 50%.

Livingstone said this week that he would reject the planning application for the site unless he got his way.

He said: "London needs more affordable homes for those in housing need and key workers who are being priced out of town. If it can't be done on publicly owned land like the dome, how can we expect private developers to do it on other Thames Gateway sites?"

Deputy mayor Gavron was unavailable for comment but a spokesperson in her office played down the rift between the mayor and his deputy. He said that in terms of the entire redevelopment of the Thames Gateway, they held similar views on affordable housing quotas.

If 50% can’t be done on a public site like the dome, how can we expect private developers to do it?

London mayor Ken Livingstone

The spokesperson said that Gavron was pushing for more than the 35% allocation, as the government's social housing agenda had moved on since her comments in Building last year, but added that she would be happy to settle for a figure less than 50%.

Gavron was quoted as saying last year: "We [Livingstone and Gavron] are pushing for 35% on the dome site and as a minimum across the borough. We are trying to be consistent."

A decision was due to made by Greenwich council planning committee as Building went to press, and it was unclear whether the plans submitted for Greenwich peninsula would be accepted n Ken Livingstone has rejected plans to redevelop the Mermaid Theatre in Blackfriars, central London.