has pledged
to set up a “People’s Land Commission” to restore and revive local
communities if elected Mayor of London in May. [1]
A key principle of Sian’s bid to be Mayor is to give power back
to people on the ground to deliver the better city we need. This
policy would help people work from the grassroots up to transform
high streets, plan a low carbon future, and create community
infrastructure and new homes.
Borough councils would be supported to bring together
professionals, experts, Londoners and community groups to chart
their local areas, and make plans that will create new homes
without demolition and bring new life to underused buildings and
plots of land.
Greens believe that local knowledge is the best way to find the
right places for new homes, new trees and green spaces, green
energy infrastructure, repair and reuse services, new green
businesses, new parks, theatres, community and youth centres, or
whatever else communities need to build resilience in the
recovery from the coronavirus crisis.
Sian said:
“I will put power back into the hands of Londoners by setting up
a People’s Land Commission.
“Together, we will go out into our city, and find land to use for
the things which actually matter, and which build the resilience
we need not only to get through this crisis but to be stronger
when we face the next challenges in our city.
“The People’s Land Commission will empower boroughs, councillors,
local people and businesses to map their areas and put forward
ideas to use land for new homes, green spaces, community
infrastructure and businesses from the ground up.
“The huge responses from people on the ground, from all walks of
life, to the climate and ecological emergency and the coronavirus
crisis, has shown the potential for local action and local ideas.
These can be helped to fly with the new levers and new agency a
Green Mayor will provide.
“There are groups meeting every week in all parts of London
looking at these issues in detail with ideas that we in City Hall
must help to make happen.”
ENDS
NOTES
[1]
Further background to the People’s Land Commission policy:
The current Mayor’s small sites policy within the London Plan ran
into difficulties due to a lack of local, detailed planning to
support it, and the ‘Small Sites Small Builders’ programme has
been very slow to release land and sites, with many small
builders struggling to get access to land. The release of small
sites owned by Transport for London to community-led housing
groups has so far only resulted in two sites being allocated. [2]
To bring new, London-wide plans to life, Sian as Mayor will
support local areas with funding to purchase land - through
grants, revolving funds or borrowing that is financed from rents
and income resulting from new businesses and homes. Where
necessary, compulsory purchase powers will also be more widely
used with the support of the GLA.
In addition to existing powers including compulsory purchase,
Greens will also continue to lobby central Government for a
devolved or national “community right to buy” which will enshrine
a right of first refusal for a local community group to buy any
land or property which goes on sale in a given location. This law
already exists in Scotland. [3]
An example of good practice within the current small sites work
in London is the borough of Hackney, where the council
commissioned a survey of underutilised land in the borough in
order to support its own small sites target as part of the London
Plan. Although this wasn’t a community-led project, it did look
at the current uses of land on the ground, excluding for example
community gardens from consideration. This survey found that
20,000 people could be housed in 6,500 new homes on public land
in the borough, showing the potential of a wider People’s Land
Commission to help solve the housing crisis. [4]
A similar land commission has been set up in Liverpool by its
Metro City Mayor. [5] The Liverpool commission seeks to review
the use of land for community wealth building, and comprises
around a dozen individuals who are mainly directors and CEOs.
The Green proposals today will involve a far greater number of
stakeholders, bringing local Londoners and grassroots community
groups into the heart of decision making as well as professional
planners, aiming to create a model which is more “bottom up” than
“top down”.
[2]
Small sites. Mayor’s Question 2020/0070, AM, Jan 2020
https://www.london.gov.uk/questions/2020/0070
Small sites (1) Mayor’s Question 2019/20141, AM, Nov 2019
https://www.london.gov.uk/questions/2019/20141
[3]
https://www.gov.scot/policies/land-reform/community-right-to-buy/
[4]
https://www.urbanrandd.com/motivation
[5]
https://www.liverpoolcityregion-ca.gov.uk/steve-rotheram-launches-englands-first-land-commission-focused-on-community-wealth-building/
