Leader statement on new housing measures for London

Camden remains committed to championing the need for, and to building new council housing and affordable housing in our borough. Camden is being hit by a national housing crisis which most acutely affects us in London. It is vital, therefore, that our great city gets the new homes it needs and remains a place where everyone in our communities can build their lives.

“The revised criteria developers will follow regarding housing affordability will not affect our own housing programme – our Community Investment Programme.  We are in control of this development and will stick to our aims of delivering council homes and homes at a reduced rent, a Camden Living Rent, designed to help our keyworkers remain the borough. So far, our Community Investment Programme has built 1,780 homes – 70 per cent of which are affordable – and in total we’re building 1,800 council homes for our residents. This is changing our residents’ lives – getting them out of overcrowded homes in need of constant repair into more spacious, modern, family-friendly council housing. We are committed to building beautiful homes and surrounding infrastructure which encourages people to walk and cycle.

“Private sector developments in Camden will be affected by these changes and we will be holding developers to account to ensure they comply with these adjusted requirements, including the time limits imposed upon them. We will continue to push for the maximum amount of genuinely affordable housing and community benefit. We look forward to greater clarity on the proposals affecting the Community Infrastructure Levy through November’s consultation.

“Today’s announcement sets conditions for housing schemes to come forward urgently – to meet the Government’s target of building 1.5million homes across the country. The cost of housing materials has doubled in the last ten years, leading to many sites which could have homes built on them not getting to planning stage. This is compounded by increased financial and labour supply pressures. We are excited to see how the £322m secured by the Mayor of London for a City Hall Developer Investment Fund will be allocated and used to enable an acceleration in homebuilding.

“For decades, housebuilding has been neglected, and increasingly people have found themselves unable to get the home they need. We need new homes and we need the Government to protect access to different tenures – encourage an expansion of council housing programmes, increase protections for tenants in the private rented system through legislation and make home ownership a realistic aim for people who want it and not an unaffordable pipe dream.