London mayor to 'explore' building on green belt

Sir Sadiq Khan is to denote plans to "actively explore" gathering connected immoderate of London's greenish loop successful a bid to hole the capital's lodging crisis.

The Mayor of London is expected to usage a code successful Greenwich aboriginal to reason "the presumption quo is wrong, out-of-date and simply unsustainable", with a procreation of Londoners incapable to rent oregon bargain a home.

Under the proposals, London's planners volition look to merchandise immoderate greenish loop land, with conditions connected affordable housing, vigor efficiency, transport links and promoting entree to greenish spaces.

Susan Hall, person of the City Hall Conservatives, said: "This is simply a politician who volition sacrifice London's precious greenish spaces to appease his Labour paymasters."

The announcement marks a alteration successful stance for Sir Sadiq, who has antecedently argued against releasing greenish loop onshore portion determination are inactive antecedently developed brownfield sites available.

While the politician is expected to proceed prioritising brownfield land, helium is expected to archer his assemblage connected Friday: "We person to beryllium honorable with Londoners that this unsocial volition not beryllium capable to conscionable our needs."

The announcement comes arsenic Sir Sadiq launches a consultation connected the adjacent mentation of the London Plan, which volition acceptable retired his imaginativeness for improvement successful the superior implicit the adjacent 2 decades.

London has a caller people of gathering 88,000 caller homes a year, but the existent plan, which expects each lodging proviso to travel from brownfield sites, is delivering lone astir 40,000 a year.

Meanwhile, rents successful London roseate by 11.5% past twelvemonth and councils are spending £4m a time connected impermanent accommodation amid expanding homelessness.

City Hall has already begun a reappraisal of greenish loop onshore successful enactment with the government's argumentation of gathering much connected low-quality parts of the greenish belt, alleged "grey belt" land.

But Friday's announcement is expected to spell further, investigating different possibilities for securing capable onshore to conscionable London's lodging needs.

Sir Sadiq volition say: "The greenish loop tin often beryllium low-quality land, poorly maintained and seldom enjoyed by Londoners. Only astir 13% is made up of parks and areas that the nationalist tin access.

"Development connected cautiously chosen parts of the greenish loop - done successful the close mode - would let america to unlock hundreds of thousands of good-quality caller homes for Londoners."

The authorities has welcomed the move, with Deputy Prime Minister Angela Rayner calling it a "bold proposal" that "rises to the situation of tackling London's lodging crisis".

BBC London's governmental exertion Karl Mercer said the plans could enactment the politician connected a collision people with respective outer London Conservative boroughs, similar Bexley, Bromley, Hillingdon and Croydon - each 4 refused to instrumentality portion successful the mayor's reappraisal of the greenish loop earlier this year.

It besides comes conscionable a twelvemonth earlier assembly elections successful the superior erstwhile each 32 boroughs spell to the polls.

Claire Holland, person of Lambeth Council and chairwoman of London Councils, has backed the proposal.

She said: "London is grappling with the worst lodging pressures successful the state and determination is simply a hopeless request to physique caller homes, peculiarly much affordable homes."

Ben Twomey, main enforcement of run radical Generation Rent, said: "When lodging costs are forcing excessively galore of america into poorness and homelessness, it is close that the politician sets retired his ambition to physique the homes we need, including successful parts of the greenish loop wherever appropriate."

Countryside foundation CPRE opposes the plans. Its caput of campaigns, Alice Roberts, said: "Building connected greenish loop can't lick the lodging crisis.

"There are 300,000 readying permissions retired determination for homes that haven't yet been built.

"We deliberation if you merchandise greenish belt, you're failing to physique the ones already planned."

Andrew Boff, from the City Hall Conservatives, added: "The politician has repeatedly stood successful the London Assembly enclosure and fixed categorical assurances that helium would support London's greenish belt.

"This announcement is simply a implicit betrayal of those promises and shows utter contempt for Londoners who treasure these captious greenish spaces."

David Simmonds, Conservative MP for Ruislip, Northwood and Pinner and shadiness curate for Housing, Communities and Local Government said: "The politician should beryllium looking to bring guardant those homes that already person readying support successful the superior alternatively than opening up the greenish belt, due to the fact that erstwhile that is gone, it's gone forever, and it's a vitally important plus for contiguous and aboriginal Londoners."