There is a fundamental objection to councils working with the private sector to bring forward housing among much of the public, according to Haringey Council director of housing and growth Dan Hawthorn.
Speaking at the Collaborators debate at EG’s London Development Summit at the British Museum in relation to the ongoing protests against the council’s £2bn Haringey Development Vehicle joint venture with Lendlease, Hawthorn said that there needed to be better communication with communities when undertaking such ventures.
“Part of what is happening in Haringey in terms of where we are in terms of opposition to the arrangements is political and part is a fundamental objection to having a relationship with the private sector at all,” he said.
“There is no magic bullet to that but you have to engage as much as possible on the alternatives. There are some wholly-owned council alternatives [to housebuilding] but you have to be realistic about their limits.”
Approved in July by the council’s cabinet, Hawthorn said that the process has struck a particular nerve because the plan was to replace existing estates.
“Part of what is going on is less to do with structure but that it is an estate renewal project. Having a private sector partner doesn’t help, but it being a state renewal project means that there would be some resistance almost regardless. Nothing about our approach has made it particularly difficult to sell and it is the soundest way to approach the challenges and opportunities we have in Haringey… We still have a massive challenge to have the type of support we would like to have.”
David Lunts, executive director of housing and land at the Greater London Authority, said that while the private and public sectors were working well in London in terms of being honest and open about their objectives and collaborating in achieving them together, part of this process meant that City Hall needed to be more assertive.
“If we are all honest, there is a pushback, as we all know. The new mayor [Sadiq Khan] reflects that to some extent, with not enough having been done to build the right accommodation for London and kicked up a lot of dust,” he said.
Khan has demanded a minimum of 35% affordable housing on newly developed schemes, a policy that was highlighted by Lunts as an example of this pushback. However, those developers that commit to that level no longer have to go through viability assessments.
This give and take was welcomed by Mount Anvil chief executive Kilian Hurley.
“The 35% policy and doing away with viability works well. It takes six months less in the planning process and if you do the right thing you can zoom through,” he said.
To send feedback, e-mail david.hatcher@egi.co.uk or tweet @hatcherdavid or @estatesgazette
