Housing - a key issue for London

Written by Graham Tope and published in North West London Newspaper Group on Fri 19th Sep 2003

More than one-third of the population lives in London and the south-east - an area covering just 16 per cent of Britain. And the numbers continue to grow, with an extra 700,000 people expected to be living in the capital by 2016.

But many may be forced to leave London because of the effect this growth is having on the housing market. House prices are now nearly twice the national average, and rents are three times higher than in the rest of the UK.

"Key workers", employed in the public sector and who keep the city running, face severe difficulties in buying their first home, with low pay rates putting home ownership beyond their reach. The average house price is over nine times the average nurse's salary! A study earlier this year found more than 40 districts in and around London where a key worker couple would find it hard to afford a home.

This lack of housing is creating misery for hundreds of thousands of Londoners. Some people may view rising house prices as good news. But with workers being priced out of the capital, services like health, policing and education are being undermined and eventually all Londoners will be affected by the housing crisis.

So what are the solutions to this housing crush? For a start, there needs to be more affordable, social housing, designed to meet the needs of low-income households who are priced out of the private sector.

In his Draft London Plan, the capital's development framework for the next 15 years, the Mayor of London has set himself targets to increase the supply of affordable housing by 10,000 new homes a year. But even if he achieves this, the targets are so low, demand will continue massively to outstrip supply.

Government-appointed inspectors examined the Plan earlier this year, and they had serious criticisms of Ken Livingstone's targets. They recommended that at least 30,000 new homes were provided each year of which 50 per cent should be affordable units.

In addition to increasing the amount of new homes, the Mayor should be putting more effort into bringing empty properties and under-used stock, such as flats above shops, back into use.

The London Assembly Liberal Democrats also want him to spearhead a campaign to bring private developers to the negotiating table with local authorities, housing agencies and central government to confront the issue.

He needs to push forward and co-ordinate London-wide initiatives, and hammer out a way truly to address the problem and provide the homes that are so desperately needed. Otherwise London - and Londoners - will continue to suffer.