The Mayor of London has called for “a new housing strategy that is fit for the 21st century” as he launched a major consultation exercise on the future of housing in the capital.
Speaking at the Thames Gateway Forum Mayor Livingstone launched ‘Towards the Mayor’s Housing Strategy’, a consultation document which marks the first step in developing the Housing Strategy required under Government plans to grant him greater housing powers.
The Mayor said the capital had “reached a turning point for housing in London that will impact on the lives of many future generations of Londoners” and claimed “the Government’s decision to make my office responsible for housing strategy in London creates a real opportunity to give housing higher priority and greater focus.”
Speaking of the need to make the correct decisions Mr Livingstone said “we must build the right types of new homes to the right standards in the right places” and warned that “sustainability must be at the heart of what we do, which also means reducing energy use and cutting the cost of Londoners’ energy bills.”
The draft Mayor’s Housing Strategy, along with the Strategic Housing Investment Plan, will be published in July 2007. Once the GLA Bill is enacted, the necessary steps will be taken to make this a statutory Housing Strategy, with the intention that this becomes a statutory strategy by March 2008.
‘Towards the Mayor’s Housing Strategy’ can be downloaded at: www.london.gov.uk
