Mayor of London Sadiq Khan backtracked on housing targets and other key manifesto pledges during his first Question Time.
He sidestepped questioning from Conservative assembly member Andrew Boff on whether he was still committed to building 80,000 homes a year, demurred answering a question on strengthening rules to protect the green belt from development and U-turned on a pledge to scrap the Garden Bridge.
The mayor declined to set a housebuilding target for each of the next four years, saying there was “no point” in building homes if they were bought off-plan by overseas investors and left sitting empty, rather than occupied by Londoners.
However, he recognised the importance of overseas investment in London housing and infrastructure. “There are lots of people who want to invest in our great city and we should encourage that,” he said.
Khan stuck to his 50% affordable housing target and said he was confident it could be achieved without reducing housing supply.
Freeing up public land and introducing a more rigorous approach to assessing development viability were crucial, he said, adding that he would set this out in the coming months.
The mayor did not make any firm commitments on whether he would strengthen the “very special circumstance” loophole for developing on green belt land.
EG comment: mayor is in listening mode
Sadiq Khan’s thoughtful expression – resting one finger over his lips and one on the side of his cheek, with a slight frown – came out a lot during his first Question Time at the Norman Foster-designed City Hall, SE1, as he skilfully sidestepped probing questions from the cross-party assembly members.
His thoughtfulness is a good thing for the industry. The mayor showed that he will backtrack on pledges if they pose a threat to his ultimate aim of building more “genuinely affordable” homes for London’s workforce.
He softened his stance on international investors and avoided definitive statements about boosting powers to prevent green belt development before a proper review is carried out for the new London Plan.
The mayor is in listening mode and has sent out his newly-appointed deputy mayor for housing, James Murray, to consult developers, investors and councils.
He is going to need to follow up with action quickly if he wants to scratch the surface of London’s housing troubles.
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