London has seen a record number of requests to build new homes in 2017, according to analysis from the Fifty Thousand Homes campaign.
Over 42,000 planning applications for housing have been submitted in the first six months of 2017, a 38% increase on the average rate since 2010 and the highest number of applications over this time.
Jasmine Whitbread, chief executive of London First who launched the business-backed Fifty Thousand Homes campaign, said: “There is an appetite to build in London, but we need the Mayor, boroughs and developers to step up and make that ambition a reality. Nobody expects London’s housing crisis to be solved overnight, but 2017 is an opportunity for local authorities to grant more permissions than ever before and for record breaking levels of construction to begin. We must unlock the housebuilding hold ups that are forcing so many Londoners out of our capital.”
The analysis, developed by Grant Thornton UK LLP who are part of the Fifty Thousand Homes campaign, found that London is currently building less than half the number of homes it needs, with construction over a full year peaking at 23,913 in 2015.
But, with over 15,000 new homes already completed in 2017 and previous years seeing more homes completed in H2, London has an opportunity to deliver a bumper year for housebuilding, both in terms of permissions granted and new front doors opening, the campaign claims.
Central London appears to be building the overwhelming majority of properties, with boroughs in zones 1-3 building nearly 70% of all the capital’s new homes.
However, unless boroughs in zones 5 and 6 dramatically step up the pace, they will miss the housing targets for 2017 set out in the Mayor’s London Plan by over 50%.
Ian Tasker, director of Grant Thornton UK LLP, said: “We know there is a desperate need to boost housing supply across the capital and our analysis allows us to better understand the areas that hold the greatest opportunity but also the greatest challenge.
“The uplift in the first half of 2017, in both applications and permissions, is encouraging but there is still more to be done. London’s status as a leading global city relies heavily on businesses being able to attract local and global talent and we need to find new ways of working collaboratively to tackle the ongoing housing pressures they face. We have the appetite, we now need to focus on how we convert this into homes.”