London’s borough’s could deliver over 37,000 homes in the next five years, but they are being hampered by restricted borrowing capacity, a new report finds.
A Centre for London report, Borough Builders, suggests that if every one of London's 32 boroughs committed to delivering a minimum of 10% of their draft new London Plan target, a total of 37,300 homes could be delivered across the next five years.
This would represent 12% of London's housing target overall. Currently, London councils are set to deliver 8% of this target.
However, the report warns there are challenges that prevent councils from increasing their housing delivery to its ‘full potential’.
These include constraints on borrowing capacity, intra-council barriers and lack of political support, as well as planning and development issues that are also exacerbated by a lack of internal capacity and expertise.
‘Boroughs are already making a significant contribution towards achieving the aims of the draft New London Plan on small sites, densification and placemaking,’ said Victoria Pinoncely, research manager at Centre for London.
‘But if every borough were involved or did more, it could represent a real step change in new housing delivery.
‘As it stands, they have one hand behind their backs. Restricted access to funding, underfunded planning departments and weak political support for schemes hampers their ability to deliver the homes the London desperately needs.
‘These barriers need to be removed if we're to realise the full potential of borough builders and meet the mayor's ambitious housing targets.’
In response, Cllr Darren Rodwell, London Councils' Executive member for housing and planning, said: 'In a climate where these restrictions remain in place and where London boroughs continue to have their funding reduced, it is nigh on impossible to deliver council homes, let alone on the scale required.
'The government urgently needs to empower boroughs to build – freeing local authorities to borrow prudently and invest in new homes is the surest way to boost supply.'
