London development plan launched for new housing on public land

A new London development plan (LDP) has been launched in the capital to accelerate new home building on public land.

It is made up of developers, housing associations and contractors, who public bodies can work with to accelerate housing delivery on sites that they own.

Through the plan Transport for London (TfL) will soon bring forward three car park sites in the London Borough of Harrow at Canons Park, Rayners Lane and Stanmore, and will deliver 100% affordable housing within these developments.

City Hall has also purchased a large part of the site of St Ann’s Hospital in Haringey from the NHS. Plans for the site are being developed with the local council and local community, and this site is expected to be put through the LDP for residential development with at least 50% genuinely affordable housing.

In addition, Enfield Council will bring forward Meridian One through the new LDP. This site is next to the forthcoming Meridian Water station and will deliver up to 725 homes along with 25,000 square feet of commercial space and leisure facilities. City Hall is working closely with the council to deliver 35% affordable housing across the entire Meridian Water development.

The Mayor’s draft London Plan identifies capacity for 65,000 new homes a year and Sadiq Khan believes that public land assets have a key role to play in addressing the housing crisis in London. The LDP is now open for business and the Mayor is urging public land owners to identify surplus sites and bring them forward for development.

‘Public land has a vital role to play in tackling the housing crisis, and the new London Development Panel offers public land owners a quicker and more efficient way to bring their sites forward. We want to see it playing an important role in building the homes Londoners so desperately need,’ said James Murray, Deputy Mayor for housing and residential development.