Local London Assembly Member John Biggs calls for an end to land banking in London and supports proposals whereby developers will have to use or lose their planning permission. The proposals would help tackle land banking in London by unlocking the 210,000 homes with planning permission but which aren’t being built and would also create the new supply the capital desperately needs.
The proposals would allow councils to impose escalating fees on developers who refuse to build, backed up by the threat of compulsory purchase orders for the very worst offenders. This would give councils the tools they need to effectively tackle land banking, where developers maximise value by sitting on land instead of building on it.
The average house prices in Tower Hamlets in June this year:
Detached costs £394,000
Semi-detached costs £648,000
Terrace costs £519,263
Flat costs £365,327
In Newham, the average house prices are:
Detached costs £295,000
Semi-detached costs £253,750
Terrace costs £238,709
Flat costs £215,020
And in Barking and Dagenham:
Detached costs £263,917
Semi-detached costs £226,890
Terrace costs £196,112
Flat costs £137,019
The annual change in house prices has increased by 4.1 per cent in Tower Hamlets. In Newham it has risen 5.3 per cent and in Barking and Dagenham it is 4.6 per cent.
Local London Assembly Member John Biggs AM, said:
“I welcome the proposals this week, which outlined some ground-breaking proposals to tackle London’s housing crisis and build the homes that London needs.
“Use it or lose it planning permission is a fair yet forceful way to shift the 210,000 homes in London which have planning permission but are not being built. Under the current system, developers find it more profitable to sit on land than to build on it. This is an innovative response to the land banking that is much to blame for our housing crisis.
“Only 18,000 homes were completed in London last year and in Tower Hamlets the average annual house price has increased by 4.1 per cent. In Newham, it’s increased by 5.3 per cent and 4.6 per cent in Barking and Dagenham.
“The Mayor admits he needs to build 40,000 homes a year. This is far short of the 52,000 to 60,000 that experts say are needed. There’s crying need for homes across all tenures, but especially for people on low to modest incomes.
“The national house building programme is also great news for the capital. London must already accommodate a rapidly rising population, but if the rest of the southeast fails to meet its own needs, particularly for affordable housing, then the pressure on London could be even greater.”