Mayor of London Ken Livingstone has sparked a fresh row over the Millennium Dome by arguing that the 35% affordable housing allotted for the site is too little.
The mayor said in a letter to Greenwich council that he was minded to direct refusal of Meridian Delta’s plans for the 190-acre (77ha) Greenwich Peninsula site unless half of the 10,000 homes proposed were affordable.
Greenwich council’s planning committee meets on Wednesday to examine the proposals.
Meridian Delta, a consortium made up of Quintain Estates and Lend Lease, plans:
- up to 10,010 homes
- 3.69m sq ft (343,600 sq m) of offices
- 645,855 sq ft (60,000 sq m) of shops, hotels and leisure facilities
- a 26,000-seat sports and entertainment arena, designed by HOK sport+venue+event architects, surrounded by 667,384 sq ft (61,999 sq m) of entertainment and leisure space inside the Richard Rogers-designed, 1.37m sq ft (127,000 sq m) Dome
Livingstone’s direction is unlikely to cause Meridian Delta much alarm.
It has the backing of the government, the London Development Agency and Greenwich council.
Government guidance on affordable housing targets states that 35% is adequate for the site, while Greenwich asks for only 30%.
However, the decision could spark a new debate over the mayor’s ability to decide affordable housing provision.
If the mayor directs refusal, it is certain that the developers will appeal.
It is understood that the government would then overturn the mayor’s decision.
Livingstone said that he was “minded to direct refusal” on the grounds that 35% affordable housing “will not meet the local needs as assessed in the council’s housing needs assessment, nor will it address the strategic regional housing needs as identified in the draft London Plan”.
Livingstone added that a higher level could be provided if the government was willing to reduce its cut of the profits from the development.
“The financial restrictions to increasing the level of affordable housing are artificially prescribed by the nature of the contractual deal between the Office of the Deputy Prime Minister (ODPM) and Meridian Delta and ODPM’s insistence on the level of return to English Partnerships.”
Under the deal worked out between the government and Meridian Delta, the government will receive £550m over 25 years in exchange for the site.
Livingstone added that such prescriptions would undermine his policy.
He said it would “create a dangerous precedent for affordable housing provision in the Thames Gateway”, where much of the available housing land is owned by public vehicles.
Bert Martin, director of Meridian Delta, said that he could not comment on the details of the application before the Greenwich planning committee met on Wednesday.
However, he acknowledged: “More discussion will be needed following the meeting to resolve remaining issues, including affordable housing.”
References: EGi News 14/04/03
