The scale of the housing crisis in London is well known, with the number of households expected to grow by more than 500,000 in the next decade alone. If we are to meet their housing needs as well as tackle the shortage of homes today, we need to more than double the rate of home building to around 50,000 homes a year.
We desperately need to increase the supply of all types of homes, but especially genuinely affordable homes.
I have a costed plan to do just that. An Olympic effort to build the council homes to be rented at levels people can afford, as well as homes for private rent and sale and those in-between, paid for by a continuation of the 38p a week we have until this year paid in our council tax bills tor the 2012 London Olympics.
For me, the case for investing in social housing is particularly compelling, since these homes are allocated to those in the greatest housing need, often living in poor conditions which in themselves increase the demand on health, education and other services.
I am also convinced that increasing the supply of social housing would generate significant savings to the public purse through alleviating the costs associated with poor housing.
As the London Assembly found when it looked into the issue, just one new six-bedroom home in London can help take more than 36 Londoners out of overcrowded conditions, as other families are moved into larger vacant homes further down the chain of properties.
However, tackling homelessness and the housing crisis needs a range of policies; reducing the number of empty homes; tackling rogue landlords; providing better employment and training opportunities to young people; and improved tenancy support and mental health services.
Many renters hope to buy a home of their own when they can. My “Rent to Own” scheme allows monthly rental payments to stack towards a deposit and puts home ownership within reach.
Of course, we need the people to plan, survey and build these new homes. That is why I would like to see a Construction Academy opened, run out of City Hall. In the same way that Crossrail opened a Tunnelling Academy to equip young people with the skills they need to work on this project, my Construction Academy would offer young Londoners the same chances to equip themselves with skills and a profession for life.
Key to building much of this new housing is improving and expanding transport infrastructure in London.
Extending the Tramlink to Sutton would help unleash more home building – as would extending the Bakerloo Line through to Lewisham and beyond. Crossrail 2 opens up huge opportunities along the route and better services to the east of the city are a must.
However, the immense scale of the problem is that we need both the public sector and the private sector to deliver.
I have the experience London needs to deliver. As a Liberal Democrat on the London Assembly, I have been holding the current mayor to account for eight years. I have been working day in, day out for Londoners at City Hall and have seen first-hand the challenges we face.
We worked together and indeed funded the Olympic Park largely through public funding. We need a similar spirit to ensure Londoners are housed.
My vision is to unleash the very best in talent in this country, to help build the infrastructure we need in London.
I want to ensure that London works for everyone. And building homes for Londoners is crucial if London is to continue to grow and succeed.
