Linden Homes Calls On Mayoral And GLA Candidates To Address Housing Crisis...
25 Apr 2016

...With Its ‘Manifesto For London’

With less than a month to go until the London mayoral and London Assembly elections, top five housebuilder Linden Homes has published its own manifesto for housing in a bid to inform the debate and help ease the housing crisis in the capital.

Linden Homes has issued ‘Housing our Capital – a Manifesto for London’ to the candidates in the running to be the next Mayor of London, as well as those seeking election to the GLA. Linden Homes’ South East, Chiltern and Eastern business regions all work in the capital.

The document highlights that in recent years London’s housing supply has failed to keep pace with population increases. Since 2002 the population has risen by 14 per cent and the number of jobs by 15 per cent, but housing has only increased by 9 per cent. Linden Homes is encouraging all candidates to support policies to help deliver more homes across all London Boroughs.

Tom Nicholson, divisional managing director at Linden Homes said: “We welcome the various Government initiatives to support house building in London, such as the commitment to maintain Help to Buy until at least 2020 and the introduction of Help to Buy London. But the fact remains that to solve the housing shortage we need to focus on the factors which will allow us to build more homes.

“Our six-stage manifesto is a challenge to City Hall and the London Assembly and lays out a way forward to boost the housing supply in London. They are plans that, in our experience, will provide much-needed new homes but also new jobs, investment, economic growth and local facilities.”

Key actions recommended by ‘Housing our Capital – a Manifesto for London’:

1/ Make more land available:

• Public sector land
• Continue the work of the London Land Commission to bring forward all available and deliverable public sector land to deliver homes the capital needs
• Private sector land
• Fully utilise new powers of intervention to ensure Local Plans are in place
• Support powers to permitted development rights allowing offices to be converted to residential properties
• Work with local authorities across the South East to help meet demand in the wider region
• Engage in wider green belt debate.

2/ Make planning work:

• Support the work of National Planning Policy Framework to increase in rise of consents
• Ensure Adequate funding of and staffing of local planning departments within jurisdiction
• Awareness of viability concerns and in relation to the Mayoral CIL and affordable housing requirements be realistic in terms of what the private
• sector can deliver without public subsidy

3/ Controlling regulation – zero carbon homes

• Refrain from introducing further legislation which would impose excessive costs on the industry
• Work with London boroughs to ensure local imposed requirements are subject to a rigorous and open review of need and viability

4/ Working with communities – encouraging development

• Actively speak up in favour of new homes and promote the benefits that development brings to the capital

5/ Delivering on infrastructure

• Commit to delivering Crossrail 2 at the earliest opportunity
• Continue investment in tube and bus network

6/ Boosting demand, enabling supply

• Continue support of Help to Buy and Help to Buy London
• Work with London boroughs to ensure delivery of Starter Homes across the capital

Tom Nicholson said: “We wanted to join the debate and put forward our own set of ideas, coming from a more practical perspective. We’ve set out proposals across six key areas that, for us, represent the biggest challenge to getting homes built.”

Please click here to download the Housing our Capital - A Manifesto for London PDF.

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Media can contact Emma Cox or Kelly Ward at Remarkable Content on 01962 893893 for more information, images and interviews with Linden Homes.