London Mayor, Boris Johnson, has outlined plans to create more than 1,000 new high quality homes for long term private rent to help relieve pressure on the capital’s housing market, improve standards for tenants and boost the economy.
Over the last decade the number of households privately renting in London increased by 66% with over a quarter of Londoners now renting in the private sector.
At the MIPIM property conference in Cannes, France, the Mayor outlined his drive to use land owned by the Greater London Authority and seek institutional investors to put money in the construction of long term rental developments and help meet this need.
He announced two new sites in Newham, owned by the Greater London Authority, now being fast tracked for the construction of approximately 700 homes with around a third for private rent.
City Hall is seeking a development partner through the Mayor’s London Development Panel of 25 developers, which allows public land owners to avoid lengthy procurement processes and award individual contracts more quickly, and encouraging members to team up with institutional investors to bid.
The 0.69 hectare Pontoon Dock site has been used as a car park for the last 10 years. New homes on the development will overlook Thames Barrier Park to the south and west with protected uninterrupted views of the River Thames and is within easy reach of Pontoon Docks station.
Silvertown Way in Canning Town was once a residential area, prior to 1860. More recently, part derelict and part poor quality commercial units along a 2.1 hectare stretch, it was cleared for development in 2008.
Johnson believes that by targeting institutional investment in the private rented sector he can encourage longer term leases and more stability for tenants as well as top quality, well designed, new developments.
Similar projects are already underway to provide 300 homes at Barking Riverside and 200 at Elephant and Castle on land owned by the Mayor. More sites, including Stephenson Street in Newham, will follow later in the year.
‘With London's unprecedented population growth, housing supply and affordability is now our biggest challenge and we need to double the number of homes being built. This requires a radical rethink and it is time for a new approach which not only helps build more homes but also improves choice and quality for Londoners,’ said Johnson.
‘Capitalising on London’s undeveloped public land I want to entice more institutional investors to come forward and invest in quality homes for Londoners, boosting the economy and creating thousands of new jobs,’ he added.
Last summer the Mayor, with preferred developers, Newington Butts Development Ltd, announced the first use of institutional investment to build a large scale residential rental development in Elephant and Castle called Newington Butts which will include 457 units, 187 of which will be affordable, and create hundreds of new jobs.
The homes, when complete, will offer a unique high quality bespoke rental design, professional management services and attractive communal areas including a seven storey terrace area. Homes in the tower, originally designed by Rogers Stirk and Harbour architects, will also be available on long leases and will mirror similar style longer-term rental apartments in large cities in the US.
Within the 433 acre Barking Riverside development in east London, a joint venture between the Mayor and Bellway Homes plc, there are plans to build 318 new homes, specifically to rent, in collaboration with the residential and urban regeneration specialist Sigma and Gatehouse Bank plc. The wider scheme, a major new neighbourhood alongside two kilometres of Thames river frontage in the heart of the Thames Gateway, will include 11,000 new homes alongside new schools, healthcare, shopping, community and leisure facilities, all supported by new public transport links.
