As part of our series on 25 years of the London Mayoralty, a recent roundtable sponsored by Knight Dragon at the Design District brought together voices from across the sector to consider one of the capital’s most pressing challenges: housing.
88,000 new homes to be delivered in London.
This figure needs no introduction, having been well rehearsed over many years. Yet with only 32,000 new homes completed in London in 2023/24 and London Boroughs reporting no housing starts in the first quarter of this year, the gap between need and supply becomes ever wider.
So, as we celebrate London’s Mayoralty milestone, we ask ourselves, who would be Deputy Mayor for Housing?
Well, it seems Tom Copley – who joined us for the discussion – would.
If there is one man who knows the scale of the challenge that London faces, it’s him. And he is clear that it is a massive challenge and one that cannot be underestimated. London has been failing for decades to build the number of homes to meet the social and economic needs of the city. Higher construction costs, heightened interest rates, and considerable regulatory burdens mean that development just doesn’t stack up.
Yet despite the gloom, Tom reminds us of the rays of light.
The Spending Review saw the Government hand out one of the most generous packages of support that London has seen for decades. An £11.7 billion settlement from the Affordable Homes Programme, a commitment to support the Mayor’s City Hall Developer initiative, and sites identified to develop two new towns in the capital.
It’s all good stuff. But if real change is to happen, London needs more powers. More power to drive housing delivery at the borough level; more power to allocate funding not just on new homes but also on acquisitions, and more power to make a change now, such as supporting London’s S106 challenges.
Tom’s conclusion is clear. London knows what London needs, and City Hall must be the driving force of change if London is to be not only the greatest city in the UK, but also the world.
With thanks to Knight Dragon for sponsoring this event.
Knight Dragon are a team of experienced and creative developers, marketeers, planners, and financiers, creating a new place in London and setting new standards for urban living. They are investing more than £10 billion into Greenwich Peninsula, a new neighbourhood twice the size of Soho. Emerging as the capital’s most boldly modern landscape, the Peninsula will have 17,500 new homes, 13,000 new jobs, and seven diverse new neighbourhoods when complete. Find out more here.
