You are viewing 1 of your 1 free articles
London council to adopt 50% affordable housing target for new schemes
A Labour-controlled London council is proposing to force developers to make “at least” half of homes on new sites affordable and “maximise” social rent provision.
Wandsworth Council, which Labour took control of last year after being Conservative-held for 48 years, has launched a public consultation on its local plan to tackle what it called an “acute shortage of genuinely affordable homes”.
The 50% aim will bring the local authority into line with a previous strategic target set by London mayor Sadiq Khan.
Hammersmith & Fulham Council has also adopted the target.
Within the new 50% target, Wandsworth Council said it also “seeking” for more homes to be “genuinely affordable”. This would “preferably” involve seven out of 10 of these homes being for social rent, a council document said.
READ MORE
Under its current rules, developers in Wandsworth have to provider 35% affordable housing on schemes, in line with an original target set by Mr Khan in 2016.
Simon Hogg, leader of Wandsworth Council, said: “For too long, Wandsworth Council’s priority has been on expensive homes which are out of reach for local residents.
“We want to change this – residents’ needs and their views will be at the heart of our considerations. The council’s top priority is the delivery of genuinely affordable homes for local families.”
In 2021, Mr Khan set a strategic target for half of all new homes in London to be “genuinely affordable”. However, no formal timetable for the target to be achieved was set.
As part of its proposals, Wandsworth Council is also aiming for the new rules to cover all developments, including those with fewer than 10 homes.
The proposals are part of a shake-up of the local authority’s housing policy since Labour took control following last year’s local election.
Writing for Inside Housing in July, Aydin Dikerdem, cabinet member for housing at Wandsworth Council, revealed that all tenures in the council’s 1,000-home infill programme will now deliver 100% council rent homes on council land.
In the past, this was a cross-subsidy scheme delivering only 40% council housing, according to Mr Dikerdem.
Sign up for our Council Focus newsletter
Already have an account? Click here to manage your newsletters
