Affordable homes: London targets not being met despite 50 per cent rise in construction projects, claim Tories
London mayor Sadiq Khan has been criticised for being behind on building targets for affordable homes, despite new construction projects increasing on last year.
City Hall says 900 more affordable homes were completed in the financial year to December 2022 than in the same period last year, a rise of 50 per cent.
But Tory rivals say the mayor would need to “significantly” up his start rate and begin work on over 18,000 homes this month alone, in order to meet government housing targets.
Almost £5bn in funding was given to the Greater London Authority (GLA) in 2016 to build 116,000 affordable homes by March 2023, but just over 50,271 have been built so far.
It comes as the government is behind on its own national targets, with just 157,000 of the intended 180,000 built during the latest 2021 tranche of the bargain property programme.
Khan said: “Since I became mayor, London council home building has hit its highest levels since the 1970s and affordable house building is the highest since City Hall records began.”
But City Hall Conservatives housing spokesman Andrew Boff hit back, saying the mayor was now in “an impossible situation that could have been avoided if he had taken action sooner”.
He added: “Surely now these targets will not be met, having a devastating impact on the many Londoners unable to find the affordable homes they desperately need.
“The government, in giving record amounts of money to build homes, is showing housing is a priority for them. It’s a shame the mayor doesn’t share the same sense of urgency.
“It’s yet another example of his poor leadership and inability to take action when it counts.”
Figures show building work began on 3,698 London homes from September to December 2022, taking the total number of fresh projects for the financial year to date to 6,877. While 5,360 affordable homes were completed in the year to December 31, 2022, up by 886.
But in order to meet the target, 18,123 homes would need to begin being built before the end of March – which would equate to more than 400 a day.
Khan added: “I would like to thank London’s councils, housing associations and our capital’s wider housing sector for their efforts in helping us build a better, fairer London for everyone.
“However, in order to continue making progress the government must now provide the additional funding we need to safeguard housing delivery in the capital.”
Geeta Nanda, from MTV Housing, said housing providers faced “massive challenges, such as rising costs and building safety” and urged the government to continue funding the sector.
The Department for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities (DLUHC) has been contacted for comment.