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Developer slams Khan's 50% rule
Sadiq Khan’s plan to force builders to ensure 50% of homes are affordable will “stop the housing market”, the chair of one Britain’s biggest house builders has warned.
Speaking at the MIPIM conference in Cannes, France, today, Tony Pidgley warned the London mayoral candidates to be “pragmatic” when setting affordable homes targets.
Labour’s Mr Khan, the current frontrunner to succeed Boris Johnson in City Hall, has pledged to make half of all new homes in the capital “genuinely affordable”.
Mr Pidgley, chair of Berkeley Group, said: “I would just say this to the politicians: I hear what they say about 50% affordable housing, but that will stop the housing market.
“You have got to be pragmatic. Ken [Livingstone] campaigned on 50% and when he got in that went down to 30% because he was pragmatic.”
Mr Khan’s campaign has been contacted for comment.
Conservative rival Zac Goldsmith has previously criticised the 50% policy and said he would instead ensure transparency in developers’ viability assessments.
Discussing the priorities for the next mayor, Mr Pidgley said continuing to invest in transport infrastructure in the capital would be key to providing new homes. He said: “I think Crossrail 1 is fantastic, I hope we get an announcement that Crossrail 2 is coming [in the Budget] because infrastructure drives housing.”
