Building flats above hospitals, schools and libraries would solve London’s housing crisis according to a new report.
Building Our Way Out of a Crisis claims 630,000 new homes could be built on top of the capital’s public buildings.
A 2013 estimate by the Greater London Authority found the capital needs 48,800 homes per year, or 488,000 over the next decade.
The research, by engineering consultant WSP, said providing new homes on public land would also help pay for the upgrade of vital public services.
It envisages the private sector refurbishing or fully rebuilding hospitals, schools and libraries in exchange for the right to build and sell flats above them.
Director at WSP Bill Price said: “This isn’t about replacing schools and hospitals with apartment blocks, it’s about using the existing land more effectively with the added bonus that you can regenerate community facilities at the same time.
“It makes so much sense; these sites by their very nature are ideally located for new homes, close to transport and amenities.”
Price acknowledged that the reason this technique has not previously been explored is due to developer perception that consumers would not want to live above public buildings like hospitals.
But he claimed WSP had carried out its own research which found that 63% of people would be happy to live above a library and 23% would be willing to live above a school or hospital.
The report was backed by business group London First.
Jonathan Seager, director of housing policy said: “We are building less than half the homes we need in London and we will have to embrace bold new ideas like using ‘air space’ above sites if are going to turn this situation around.”
The report highlighted St Thomas’ Hospital as an example of how the policy could work.
It found that if 12 storeys were added to the planned new health facilities on the estate then 4,150 homes could be build – half of Lambeth’s 2021 housing target.
