A record 42,000 planning applications for housing in London was submitted in the first half of 2017, but the capital is still struggling to convert these into finished properties, campaigners say.
Analysis from the Fifty Thousand Homes campaign revealed today the record number of planning applications in the capital - a 38% increase on the average rate since 2010 - meant London could reach the 50,000 homes a year it needs to keep up with the growing population.
However, Fifty Thousand Homes, a business-led campaign, launched by London First to encourage housebuilding in the capital, warned London would struggle to hit the 50,000 homes target because of planning permission delays.
The campaigners discovered one in three planning permissions fell by the wayside in 2016.
‘Nobody expects London’s housing crisis to be solved overnight, but 2017 is an opportunity for local authorities to grant more permissions than ever before and for record breaking levels of construction to begin,’ said Jasmine Whitbread, chief executive of London First.
‘We must unlock the housebuilding hold ups that are forcing so many Londoners out of our capital.’
The analysis, developed by Grant Thornton UK LLP who are part of the Fifty Thousand Homes campaign, found that London is currently building less than half the number of homes it needs, with construction over a full year peaking at 23,913 in 2015.
Central London appears to be building the overwhelming majority of properties, with boroughs in zones 1-3 building nearly 70% of all the capital’s new homes.
But unless boroughs in zones 5 and 6 ‘dramatically’ step up the pace, the campaigners said, they will miss the housing targets for 2017 set out in the Mayor’s London Plan by over 50%.
