Sadiq Khan's housing plans for London were today dealt a blow when a leaked note revealed planning inspectors regard them as “undeliverable”.
The Mayor believes 65,000 homes a year can be built in the capital but has been advised to revise his projections down to 52,000, the Standard can reveal.
The Planning Inspectorate, the Government agency that oversees land use, has provisionally told Mr Khan that his revisions to the London Plan — the blueprint for development in the capital — are over-optimistic.
This is because his officials have overestimated how many homes can be built on derelict small sites that he believes can be remediated and made attractive to developers.
A note seen by the Standard states: “The inspectors have considered that the target set by the Mayor is likely undeliverable (in part due to the small sites strategy) and as such have recommended that this is reduced to 52,000 homes a year (from 65,000).”
Only about 30-40,000 private and affordable homes are built in London each year. The Planning Inspectorate’s draft opinion is not binding on the Mayor but could inhibit his ability to lobby for Government funds and force a rethink of his 2020 mayoral re-election manifesto.
One source said: “That is a 20 per cent cut in projected housebuilding in London every year. That is a big dent in his ambitions.”
The 65,000 is an annual target for the years from 2019/20 to 2028/29. The redrafted London Plan has undergone a six-month “examination in public” by planning inspectors and their draft comments have been sent to the Mayor for fact-checking. Mr Khan has eight weeks to publish their full report.
A total of 14,544 affordable homes, including 1,916 council homes, were started in 2018/19, meaning Mr Khan just beat the 14,000 target.
Latest figures show only 2,672 affordable homes were started between April and June. This year’s target is 17,000-23,000.
A spokesman for the Mayor said: “Sadiq makes no apologies for his ambitious plans to build homes for Londoners — particularly new council homes.”
