Publication from Siân Berry: Estate redevelopment - Have things improved under the current Mayor?

Sian Berry's new report, Estate redevelopment in London: Have things improved under the current Mayor?, shows that thousands of council homes have been lost in estate redevelopment schemes since 2003 and thousands more will be lost if currently approved schemes go ahead.

In 2018, Sian examined data on approved planning applications from the London Development Database (LDD) to find out the impact of estate ‘regeneration’ development schemes across London.

Since then, the Mayor’s new London Plan has progressed. Each draft since the first set of changes were published in August 2018 has featured strong new planning policies requiring the replacement of all social housing demolished as part of estate redevelopment schemes. Although it is not yet in force, these policies have steadily gained weight in decision-making as the London Plan has got closer to final publication.

In addition, the Mayor’s new guidance for estate regeneration, Better homes for local people, published in February 2018, included an additional requirement for a ballot for residents on estates facing demolition after a strong campaign by Londoners, including Sian. The ballot policy came into force in July 2018.

This report looks into the situation again for two main reasons:

1. To examine whether these new policies are having an impact on the level of social housing demolition without replacement in planning applications.

2. To publish updated data on the impact of estate redevelopment on the total net loss of social housing in London.

This report is an updated analysis of all proposals for sites containing existing social housing units that were given planning permission since 2003 (the most reliable possible start date for any reliable analysis using the current LDD).

Key findings of Sian's report:

• Completed social housing redevelopment schemes involving demolition have led to the net loss of 6,748 social and council homes in London since 2003.

• Schemes currently in the pipeline - either with planning permission or with demolition started but not yet completed - would see the net loss of 6,792 more social and council homes.

• Overall, London is set to have lost more than 13,500 council homes in estate redevelopment schemes once currently approved projects are completed.

• The current Mayor's new planning and resident ballot policies are yet to have a significant effect on stemming the net loss of social housing in estate redevelopment schemes approved to date.

A full copy of the report can be found below.