London faces worsening housing crisis after work begins on only 1,600 new affordable homes

Lockdown and other measures taken to restrict the spread of the coronavirus have had a devastating impact on Sadiq Khan’s original ambition to fund 116,000 “genuinely affordable” flats and houses by 2022
Fears are growing of a worsening housing crisis in London
PA

Fears that London faces a worsening housing crisis after the pandemic were raised today by figures showing that work began on only 1,600 new affordable homes in the first half of the year.

The data from the Greater London Authority (GLA) shows that the lockdown and other measures taken to restrict the spread of the coronavirus have had a devastating impact on Sadiq Khan’s original ambition to fund 116,000 “genuinely affordable” flats and houses by 2022.

The Mayor has received almost £5 billion in central Government grants but has been given an extra year to hit the target.

To date just 53,405 affordable homes have got under way since his election in May 2016.

The latest figures show that work started on 1,634 homes subsidised by City Hall in the six months from April to September. Even fewer, just 1,201, were actually completed.

In 13 boroughs, more than a third of the total, the foundations have not laid on a single affordable home during the first half of the financial year.

This year’s aim of just 10,300 starts is little more than half last year’s 17,000 target.  

Housebuilding virtually ground to a halt in the first months of the Spring lockdown with just five per cent of the normal number of starts across to the UK in April rising to 10 per cent in May. However, most sites have steadily opened up since then.

Mr Khan’s political opponents seized on the figures as evidence that he has failed to deliver on a flagship pledge from his 2016 election campaign.

His Conservative rival in next year’s delayed Mayoral poll, Shaun Bailey, said: “Coronavirus isn’t to blame. Even before the pandemic, he was nowhere near his target of 116,000 new affordable homes — with almost half of these homes yet to be built.

“Londoners need homes they can afford. It’s the Mayor’s job to deliver them. Sadiq Khan is failing Londoners and failing to live up to his responsibilities.“

The GLA figures come the day after separate data revealed that the number of home in the capital lying long term empty has risen by a quarter to 30,616 with the total going up 27 per cent in inner London and 21 per cent in outer London.

Last year London councils are spent over £700 million on temporary accommodation for households they were unable to provide with homes.

A spokesperson for the Mayor said:”The Mayor remains on track to deliver 116,000 affordable starts by end of March 2023. Sadiq has hit every one of his annual delivery targets agreed with the Government and last year started the most new genuinely affordable homes in London since GLA records began in 2003.

“COVID-19 has had a major impact on construction, and an economic downturn presents further challenges but the Mayor is confident of hitting his target of 10,300 new starts by the end of the financial year.”

Council  Affordable housing starts on site April 2020 to September 2020
Barking and Dagenham58
 Barnet 10
 Bexley 0
 Brent 0
 Bromley 0
Camden52
City of London0
Croydon132
Ealing15
Enfield51
Greenwich43
Hackney0
Hammersmith and Fulham0
Haringey135
Harrow5
Havering0
Hillingdon11
Hounslow51
Islington0
Kensington and Chelsea0
Kingston Upon Thames0
Lambeth98
Lewisham295
Merton0
Newham333
Redbridge0
Richmond Upon Thames0
Southwark42
Sutton1
Tower Hamlets85
Waltham Forest100
Wandsworth184
Westminster28
TOTAL1,634

Source: GLA

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