Prime Minister pledges house building boost for London

• New plan to deliver more homes and grow the economy
• Over £200 million of newly announced funding for London to drive densification and regenerate unused brownfield land in the capital
• Review of Mayor’s London Plan in order to accelerate house building

New plans will deliver more homes – including Affordable Housing – on brownfield land in the heart of the capital, Prime Minister Rishi Sunak has announced today (Thursday 27 July).  

The Government is on track to build 1 million homes over this Parliament, having already delivered more than 2.2 million since 2010. 

However, this success has not been realised in London where, despite receiving billions in Government funding, the Greater London Authority (GLA) has failed to deliver the homes that Londoners need.  

London’s own local housing plan says that 52,000 new homes are required – after the Mayor’s London Plan was not deemed credible to the deliver the original 66,000 homes a year that he estimated to be needed. 

Despite this, only around 30,000 have been built in recent years, and the latest indicator suggests only 21,000 new homes started development last year. The impact has been higher house prices for Londoners – many of whom are struggling to get onto the housing ladder in the first place, and greater pressure on outer London suburbs and the countryside which surrounds the capital. 

The government has already allocated £1 billion to support the delivery of affordable housing in London. 

Today, we are announcing that a further £200 million of funding will be spent in London to drive densification and regenerate unused brownfield land. This includes:

A direct allocation of £150 million for housebuilding to London boroughs, bypassing the Greater London Authority – to unlock development by preparing brownfield land and supporting infrastructure like new roads and green spaces. Because of the Mayor’s failure to deliver the number of homes required in London over his years in office, someone working in inner London can, on average, expect to pay 17 times their earnings to buy a home - a ratio more than double the national average. This is why the Government needs to change the approach, working directly with other local leaders in the capital. 

Further Government investment worth £53 million to Old Oak West - a project that will deliver over 9,000 new homes, support 12,000 jobs, and transform the area neighbouring the £1.7 billion Old Oak Common HS2 station.

Extra support for social housing regeneration – for the first time, the £1 billion allocated by government for Affordable Housing in the Capital will be made available to support regeneration of old social housing estates so that residents have homes that are safe, decent, warm and secure. This is part of the £4 billion allocated to deliver tens of thousands of new Affordable Homes in the capital, as part of the Government £11.5 billion Affordable Homes Programme. 

Launching a review into housebuilding in the Mayor’s London Plan – to address issues such as single-story warehouses being prioritised over new homes on central London sites within a few minutes of tube stations. The Levelling Up Secretary will work with the Mayor of London and the GLA to look at opportunities to accelerate residential development on inner city brownfield industrial sites – but if progress is not made by the autumn, the Levelling Up Secretary reserves the right to direct changes to the local plan to increase delivery of new homes.

Supporting Docklands 2.0 – the government’s vision for an eastward extension along the Thames of the successful London Docklands development, which has the potential to create up to 65,000 homes across multiple sites including at Thamesmead, Beckton and Silvertown. Beautiful, well-connected homes and new landscaped parkland will be integral to the development. Under the plans announced today, the government will consider options to bolster transport links in the area and attract local and national investment.

The Prime Minister Rishi Sunak said:  

“We are on track to build 1 million new homes over this Parliament, having already delivered over 2.2 million across the country since 2010. 

“But the reality is that too few of these homes are being built in London, and for too many Londoners the dream of owning their own home is beyond reach.

“The mayor has failed to deliver the homes that London needs. This has driven up house prices and made it harder for families to get on the housing ladder in the first place.

“That is why we are stepping in today to boost house building and make home ownership a reality again for people across this great city”.

Secretary of State for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities Michael Gove said: 

“I want to use the regeneration of the Docklands as an inspiration for more regeneration across the capital, a Docklands 2.0, transforming more unwanted and underused land into beautiful and thriving neighbourhoods.  

“Our vision will only work if we make use of all the tools at our disposal to deliver homes in the capital. That is why I will continue to closely monitor the Greater London Authority to ensure it is delivering the housing London so desperately needs and I will not hesitate to intervene further if needed.” 

Today’s plan sits alongside measures already announced this week to fast-track brownfield development, enhance rights for homeowners to build outwards and upwards and speed up planning decisions by hiring hundreds of new local planners. 

Notes to editors: 

The Housing Secretary’s full speech: https://www.gov.uk/government/speeches/long-term-plan-for-housing-secretary-of-states-speech  

The £200 million for London announced today is a new allocation within the £1 billion Brownfield, Infrastructure and Land Fund. This is the first time that this allocation for London has been confirmed.