Boris Johnson may be a politician inclined to go where others fear to tread, but could the mayor’s decision to open up a debate on the future of the green belt be a step too far?
It’s a topic every bit as controversial as Europe. Most politicians steer well clear; there are few friends to be won in even posing questions on the green belt’s future. But Boris is set to put it centre stage.
Expect a first draft of the mayor’s 2050 Infrastructure Plan to land next month. His deputy, Sir Edward Lister, reminded EG this week that the mayor has the power to redraw London’s green belt, and added: “There is green belt and then there is green belt.”
The paper is bound to elicit a near hysterical response from some quarters. But a sensible debate is vital.
London has a housing crisis that is intensifying, not easing. Every political party, every think tank and even the heir to the throne recognises that. And to not even pose the question of whether parts of the green belt could contribute to a solution would be a dereliction of mayoral duty.
It may turn out that the existing green belt boundaries – drawn up in 1935 – are appropriate, of course. It may be that other ideas offer a better solution. Savills’ proposal for an “arc of co-operation” among 11 commuter areas around London to plan a solution to the housing crisis looks to have merit.
But frankly, with as many as 50,000 new homes a year needed to house London’s working population over the next decade, every option deserves –requires even – consideration.
¦ Lloyds Banking Group is taking new space in the City, going under offer to let 100,000 sq ft at Alban Gate, EC2. When was the last time a big UK bank expanded its footprint to any sizeable degree? Coming in the week that the government has cut its stake in the bank to less than a quarter –a conscious uncoupling, to borrow a phrase – the deal with JP Morgan will be seen as another step on Lloyds’ road to recovery and a return to full private sector ownership.
¦ As UK banks suffered through the recession, their Chinese counterparts thrived. In 2009, the year Lloyds went cap in hand to government, Bank of China bought One Lothbury, EC2, for its own occupation, paying £89m. This week, China Construction Bank agreed to pay a heady £110m for 111 Old Broad Street, EC2. For both banks presence and statements of intent trumped immediate occupational needs. The buildings are perhaps the least densely occupied offices in the Square Mile. But as bold brand statements go, they are hard to beat.
¦ London has been doing it for some time. Manchester cracked it last year. Will Birmingham be the next UK city to attract serious overseas money?
The Martineau Galleries Partnership, a jv between Land Securities, Hammerson and Pearl Group, is mulling what could be an £80m sale of the mothballed 13.6-acre Martineau Galleries scheme in the city. Martineau Galleries would be a prime beneficiary of an extended city centre enterprise zone, which the council hopes will fund 8.2m sq ft of development alongside the proposed HS2 terminus. A city with an international reputation, the carrot of EZ-led tax breaks and the lure of major infrastructure investment: what more could an overseas investor wish for?
¦ Scottish local government minister Derek MacKay tells EG this week that the independence debate has caused no “turbulence” to the level of planning applications north of the border. Yet a show of hands at the Scottish Property Federation conference reveals the debate is already affecting the Scottish real estate market – whether separation happens or not. With European elections in May, the independence referendum in September, a general election next year and mayoral elections in 2016, politics is going to cast a longer shadow over this and other industries than it has done for many years.
Damian.Wild@estatesgazette.com
