HOUSE ME LONDON PLEASE READ ME & THEN SHARE ME #HOUSEMELONDON

HOUSE ME LONDON PLEASE READ ME & THEN SHARE ME #HOUSEMELONDON

Where will my family live? Will I ever own a home? HOUSING is the most important issue for Londoners. The average Londoner thinks it s more significant than immigration, the NHS, the economy and unemployment. Once the cost of housing is taken into account, 27% of Londoners live in poverty. The majority of these, 1.2m people, are in a working family. There are 170,000 homeless people in London today; more than double those five years ago. Half of all millennials worry that they won t be able to afford a decent home. They see the #housingcrisis and say #housemelondon! Why is housing so important? Housing is not only about having a roof over our heads but also the safety, privacy and personal space that comes with it. Sadly, Londoners of all ages expect today s housing situation to worsen for future generations. This is largely because it is unaffordable to those that do not already own somewhere. The average rent of a two-bed property is 44% of the median income of family-aged workers between 30-39 years old. First time buyers find average house prices at least 10 times average annual earnings and these are up to 40 times higher in central boroughs. The shortage of genuinely affordable homes to buy and rent is increasing social inequality. There are stark differences in housing costs between those who bought in previous decades and more recently, between owners and renters. This means there is not only inequality within generations but also between them. Once housing costs are taken into account, pensioner incomes are now greater than those of working age households. The idea that each generation can aspire to a better quality of life is increasingly being proven wrong. We should fix this.

The average London salary is 34,600 whilst the average London house price is 585,500. With a 10% deposit, the average couple could only afford to buy about 60% of a home. LONDON S housing problems may seem odd when, for the best part of 30 years, the city s success has seemed unstoppable. In the boom-to-bust period from 2004-2012, only 24,700 homes were constructed in an average year. At least 62,000 homes need to be built each year to meet #London s need. Londoners see the #housingcrisis and say #housemelondon! What s the problem? Having seen its population fall after the Second World War, the economic big bang of the 1980s made London a place where people wanted to live and work once more. This renewed areas of decline and nurtured a globally competitive super-region. The problem is that we ve not built enough new homes to keep up with this change, to meet either our need or demand, for sale or for rent. This shortage has pushed up prices, making housing less affordable. We re not doing enough to build the amount of new homes that London needs. The city s boroughs try to approve 42,000 new homes per year but many aren t constructed and even the target is short of what s required over the next ten years. The shortage of new homes is increasing and so too is the cost of housing. Housebuilders are not the problem. They simply build, sell and rent properties, in keeping with market conditions. Migration is not the problem. It s been an important part of population growth over the past three decades but projected growth would still take another thirty years to level out if it stopped completely. We need to start doing things differently. If we carry on in the same way, the situation will continue to get worse. We can fix this.

LONDON s housing disaster is, at its heart, one of equality and social justice. The good ship Home Ownership has sailed. Those on board can move between the decks but, for those left on the dockside, not even the smallest cabin is an option. What kind of city do you want to live in? What more could you be doing? THE GOVERNMENT recognises the seriousness of the challenge and need to build more homes. It is exploring ways to use spare land and new construction techniques. However, the scale of these changes is small and it s unlikely they will be enough to quickly match our aspirations. LONDONERS need not despair but must lobby for the changes which make a difference. Three ideas include

1 better green belt The green belt exists to stop London s uncontrolled outwards expansion. It s not the only way to do this. Nor, as it s not about landscape quality, is it the best way to prevent damage to the environment. At 3.5 times the size of London itself, the Metropolitan Green Belt accounts for 3.9% of England s total land area. Less than 2% of London s #greenbelt could accommodate the 1 million new homes #London needs by 2020. Why not use it to help #housemelondon? Why think about the green belt? When local areas began to use planning policies to protect green belt land in 1955, it was hoped that London s Metropolitan Green Belt might eventually be some 7 to 10 miles deep. It now extends up to 50 miles beyond the edge of the city, covering approximately 516,000 hectares. It s so large that only 7% is actually within London s boundary. The concept of a green belt for London emerged over many years. During this time, it was commonplace to question the strengths, weaknesses, possible improvements and alternatives. Maybe we should do the same today. How would we define the green belt if we were to start with a blank sheet of paper? Is such a large green belt required and where should it be? Are there better ways to protect and enhance the environment without constraining the supply of new homes and workspaces?

a national plan 772 The UK Government spends billion each year and takes decisions which impact the economy, health, infrastructure, energy and climate change. England is the only major Western #European country without a national spatial plan. Why not use one to help #housemelondon? 2 Whilst London has jobs but few homes, other parts of the country have homes but few jobs. A National Plan could reduce the differences and take the pressure off London s growth. How would a national plan help? The Government spends a lot of money on the things that affect our lives. It also decides the locations for new nuclear power stations and high-speed railways, ports and airports. This all impacts upon where people want to live and work. A clear plan as to how and where these investments are made would provide certainty to businesses and local communities. Every other major country in Western Europe has a national spatial plan to make clear how spending and policy decisions are related. Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland all have spatial plans but nothing links these to England. What if there was a single document to make the social and economic aims of the Government clear? Would it be popular to support employment in places where homes remain affordable?

get government building The Mayor of London has released only 414 hectares of land with potential for only 50,000 new homes. The Mayor has identified 40,000 surplus sites but space for only 130,000 new homes. Why not ask the Government to help #housemelondon? 3 Private developers have built broadly 150,000 homes per year in England for the past century. They have never built the number of new homes that we now need, in London or elsewhere. Who else might build? For many years the publicsector, often local government, built more homes than private developers. There is plenty of spare government land which is not being used as well as cheap finance. This puts the Ministry of Defence, National Health Service and Local Authorities in a strong position to explore how they could help. The Government exists to act in the public interest. It is also in a stronger position than many private developers to support the delivery of new housing, particularly to rent, either independently or in partnerships. This means that more homes could be built which are more affordable if the Government was involved. What if local government could be more proactive? What if the Government could provide cheap finance to unlock opportunities? What if publically owned land could be used for the greatest public benefit?

SHARE YOUR IDEAS USING #HOUSEMELONDON Author: Jonathan Manns is a Chartered Planner and Surveyor. He is Director of Planning at Colliers International, Honorary Senior Lecturer at UCL and a Trustee of the London Society. Publisher: Birdcage Print, 2017.

PLEASE READ ME AND SHARE ME ACT NOW USING #HOUSEMELONDON By @Jonathan_Manns, @Colliers_London