Government housing plans need to deliver in London
Source: London CouncilsPublished Wednesday, July 1, 2009 - 08:25
London Councils has welcomed plans outlined by the government to increase the number of affordable homes and allow local councils to keep the rents they collect and any money they raise through Right to Buy.
However, it has called on the government to work closely with London boroughs to ensure that Londoners receive the full benefit from the plans.
Under the proposals the government will put an additional £1.5 billion into building 20,000 new affordable homes across the country.
It has also outlined plans to allow local authorities to keep any money they collect through rents and through selling council homes. Currently some of this goes to the government.
London Councils’ Executive Member for Housing, Councillor Steve Reed, said:
“These announcements represent a huge shift in government thinking. It also shows they have heeded our calls for the boroughs to have greater freedom to use all the money they raise locally for the benefit of their residents.
“The government’s promise of more money for building affordable homes will also be a welcome boost to London, where homelessness and overcrowding is an issue and people have difficulty renting and very often can’t afford to buy their own home.
“However, it is important to remember that building sustainable communities is about more than bricks and mortar, that decent public transport and safe neighbourhoods are vital components of successful developments.
“We still await the detail of the government’s plans. It is vital that they work closely with boroughs. and we work together to ensure that the affordable homes Londoners so desperately need will be delivered, in a way that safeguards jobs in the building industry”
These additional resources will be of particular benefit to London boroughs, where a desperate shortage of affordable housing has left 350,000 households on council waiting lists, 50,000 households in temporary accommodation and 27,000 families in unsuitable, severely overcrowded homes.
