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London Mayor’s housing strategy will ease burden on developers

Boris Johnson said his aim is to boost the construction industry and replace outdated policies that no longer apply to the current market and economic climate in London.

The main thrust of the plan is to deliver new affordable home and provide a more sustainable route to home ownership as well as kick starting stalled developments.

'The strategy focuses not only on the issues facing the housing market in these difficult times but the historic problems of affordability, homelessness and overcrowding,' said Johnson.

'It is designed to meet the needs of Londoners aspiring to get a foot on the housing ladder. For far too long London's finest have been priced out of the capital's housing market and, as a result, forced out of town with the capital losing their skills and expertise,' he added.

The British Property Federation welcomed the investment package. 'It will be challenging, but the alternative does not bear contemplating. The new strategy is slimmer, but fitter for the current economic conditions. The Mayor has rightly focused on a few key priorities, where the greatest difference can be made,' said Director for residential policy, Ian Fletcher.

Jon Neale, head of development research at Knight Frank, said it was the first serious attempt by the public sector to kick start housing development which has fallen to a worrying low level.

'There is a clear recognition that policies that may have worked over the past decade are no longer appropriate in the current housing market and the wider economic situation. It is also evident that the Mayor has understood the urgent need to keep development happening and retain some capacity within the industry,' he commented.

'Allowing public funds to be used to bring land forward for housing is a key step towards achieving this, while moves to buy more market homes for affordable use will help ease some of the crisis in London's development industry,' he added.

'However, the really radical move in this document is the decision to use public funds to help develop subsidised rent and rent-to-buy properties. Providing a stimulus for developers to produce rental homes which can be sold at a later date, or converted to social housing, will be vital in ensuring that homes are still built at a time in which sales are proving difficult to achieve.'

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