Mayor launches new scheme to speed up housebuilding on public land

August 20, 2018 / Isla MacFarlane
Mayor launches new scheme to speed up housebuilding on public land

The Mayor of London, Sadiq Khan, has announced his new London Development Panel (LDP), made up of developers, housing associations and contractors, who public bodies can work with to accelerate housing delivery on sites that they own.

Through the LDP, TfL will soon bring forward three car park sites in the London Borough of Harrow (Canons Park, Rayners Lane & Stanmore), and will deliver 100% affordable housing within these developments, according to a statement.

City Hall has also purchased a large part of the site of St Ann’s Hospital in Haringey from the NHS. Plans for the site are being developed with the local council and local community, and this site is expected to be put through the LDP for residential development with at least 50% genuinely affordable housing.

In addition, the Enfield Council will bring forward Meridian One through the new LDP. This site is next to the forthcoming Meridian Water station and will deliver up to 725 homes along with 25,000 sq ft of commercial space and leisure facilities. City Hall is working closely with the council to deliver 35 per cent affordable housing across the entire Meridian Water development.

The Mayor’s draft London Plan identifies capacity for 65,000 new homes a year and Sadiq Khan is using all of his powers to increase the proportion of genuinely affordable homes being built in London.

Public land assets have a key role to play in addressing the housing crisis in London. The LDP is now open for business and the Mayor is urging public land owners to identify surplus sites and bring them forward for development.

James Murray, Deputy Mayor for Housing & Residential Development, said, “Public land has a vital role to play in tackling the housing crisis, and the new London Development Panel offers public land owners a quicker and more efficient way to bring their sites forward. We want to see it playing an important role in building the homes Londoners so desperately need.”

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