Mayor of London Boris Johnson has announced the members of the capital’s new housing board, Homes for London.
Under new powers which took effect after the election, City Hall has gained responsibility for 550 hectares of land and £3bn in funding for new homes.
As previously announced, the board will be chaired by Richard Blakeway, the deputy mayor for Housing, Land and Property.
On Wednesday the Mayor announced Sir Steve Bullock, Mayor of Lewisham, Bromley council leader Cllr Stephen Carr and Cllr Chris Roberts, Leader of Royal borough of Greenwich would join the board.
They will be joined by former Head of Structured Finance for the Barclays Corporate Bank Property Nick Salisbury, Greenwich Peninsula joint chief executive Mike Youkee and Charmaine Young CBE, outgoing director of St George plc.
Mayor Johnson said: “We have one of the greatest opportunities this city has every seen to take a unique combination of land and investment and make it work to deliver the homes Londoners need, helping to generate thousands of jobs and boost economic growth along the way.
“Securing such a high calibre of independent experts to direct this work shows just how important this process is and I’m proud to welcome each and every member on board.”
Appearing before the London Assembly on Wednesday morning the Mayor said Homes for London would not be a large external agency like Transport for London but would keep the new responsibilities within City Hall.
On Thursday City Hall hailed the launch of a new scheme aimed at helping social housing tenants to move between boroughs so they can take up job offers and care for relatives.
Developed in partnership with London’s boroughs and housing associations, the housingmoves.org website allows tenants to select a property in their desired borough.
Bullock said the scheme would “enable tenants to be closer to their workplace and carers to be nearer to those who depend on them. Prioritising tenants who are willing to downsize will mean more larger properties will become available for families on housing waiting lists.”