The zones, which are a joint effort between London, local and national government, allow the Mayor to remove “unnecessary” planning restrictions in specific parcels of land earmarked for development by local councils who then partner with a developer.
Mr Johnson today announced the creation of three new zones in Brent, Westminster and Sutton, taking the total number of announced schemes to 18. The location of two further zones will be revealed later this summer.
City Hall says collectively the zones will deliver a total of 50,965 new homes, one-third will be affordable to buy or rent, which Mr Johnson said marked the delivery of his pledge to deliver 50,000 new homes over this mayoralty.
He commented:“We have worked very hard to reach our goal of 50,000 homes, and we’ve done it with two more Housing Zones to go. This scheme has proven extremely popular with boroughs, who have clearly been looking for just that extra bit of assistance in revving up their housebuilding to answer clear demand from Londoners.
“I could not be more pleased at the progress of this innovative scheme and the real outcomes it has delivered for our city.”
However Tom Copley, Labour’s City Hall housing spokesperson, accused the Mayor of “crowing about homes which won’t be built until long after he has left office.”
Mr Copley commented: “Whilst it’s good Boris Johnson has finally woken up to the capital’s housing crisis this is far too little far too late. Independent analysis shows London needs to be building 48,841 homes annually, a target Boris has missed each and every year he has been Mayor. Last year London built only 18,260.
“The Mayor needs to understand that announcing homes to be built in the future just won’t cut it. Plans don’t put a roof over a family’s head.”
