The London Assembly has raised concerns at
Transport for London's (TfL) proposed withdrawal of the existing
site for the Cable Street Community Land Trust (CLT) project,
which London CLT and Citizens UK have been developing on this
site in partnership with the Mayor since 2018.
TfL raised concerns over its estimated additional maintenance
costs of the adjacent Docklands Light Railway (DLR) track if the
scheme was to proceed as planned, estimated at £2m over four
years (£500k per year).
The Assembly is calling on the Mayor, in his
final draft consolidated budget for 2026-27, to provide funds for
any consequent and hopefully much reduced costs required to
safeguard the building of these homes on the existing site.
Zoë Garbett AM, who proposed
the motion, said:
“I'm so pleased that the London Assembly joined me to urge
the Mayor to secure the future of the Cable Street Community Land
Trust (CLT) project.
“Problems with the DLR track nearby that have halted this
development can be solved through collaboration with TfL or funds
for additional maintenance – it's a simple fix to save a
community-led project that has been on the cards since
2018.
“Losing its current site would mean losing genuinely
affordable homes, writing off around £1 million in funding that
has already been spent, and worst of all, destroying the long and
productive relationship with the people and community who have
been working on this development.
“I hope that in the Mayor's final budget due next month, that
we see funds for any consequent and hopefully much reduced costs
required to safeguard the building of these homes on the existing
site.”
The full text of the motion is:
This Assembly expresses its concern at Transport for London's
(TfL) proposed withdrawal of the existing site for the Cable
Street Community Land Trust (CLT) project, which London CLT and
Citizens UK have been developing on this site in partnership with
the Mayor since 2018.
This Assembly notes TfL's concerns over its estimated additional
maintenance costs of the adjacent Docklands Light Railway (DLR)
track if the scheme was to proceed as planned, estimated at £2m
over four years (£500k per year).
This Assembly further notes cancelling the project on this site
risks the loss of:
- 41 genuinely affordable homes for
the local community
- £1m GLA grant funding from previous
budgets spent developing the project on this site
- A community-led development on
brownfield land fenced off for 50 years
- A flagship GLA Small Sites Small
Builders project
- Years of community effort, trust
and financial investment
This Assembly calls on the Mayor to:
- Investigate the £500k/year
operational costs estimated by TfL
- Work with project partners and TfL
to reduce or eliminate the costs of proceeding with the scheme on
the existing site
- In his final draft consolidated
budget for 2026-27, to provide funds for any consequent and
hopefully much reduced costs required to safeguard the building
of these homes on the existing site
Notes to editors:
- The Motion was agreed by 12 votes for and 2 votes against.
