Regeneration news
Mayor announces ‘record number’ of affordable homes being built in London
The Mayor of London has announced that a “record number” of affordable homes are being built in the capital.
In a speech at Royal Eden Docks in the Royal Docks, on Monday 15 May, Sadiq Khan said he would continue tackling the “grave social injustice” of unaffordable housing.
He said that a “record number” of 25,000 affordable homes had been started last year and that he had surpassed his 2015 promise to begin building 116,000 by 2023.
The mayor said the figures were “concrete proof that London is building again”, describing the programme as a “big bang in an affordable housing revolution”.
He said that affordable housing was the key to “safeguard the soul of our city” and reiterated calls for the Government to introduce a freeze on rental costs.
The latest figures from HM Land Registry showed that the average cost of properties in London was £532,212, the highest in the country, compared with a national average of £288,000.
In London, not only have we hit our target of starting 116,000 new genuinely affordable homes, we’ve exceeded it, with an incredible record-breaking 25,000 affordable homes in the last year alone
Mayor of London, Sadiq Khan
In his speech, Mr Khan added that the housing crisis in London was “turbo-charging inequalities in wealth, health and happiness”.
He said: “As mayor, I don’t want to see London become a playground for the rich – I’m determined to build a London for everyone.
“We’ve completed more homes of all types than at any time since the 1930s.
“In London, not only have we hit our target of starting 116,000 new genuinely affordable homes, we’ve exceeded it, with an incredible record-breaking 25,000 affordable homes in the last year alone – more genuinely affordable homes than in any year since records began.” say that, brick by brick, the start of an affordable housing revolution is under way.”
