The variety of affordable houses began underneath Greater London Authority (GLA) programmes dropped by 23% final 12 months because the COVID-19 pandemic disrupted building.
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The GLA mentioned the variety of starts in 2020/21 exceeds the annual goal agreed with authorities at the beginning of the pandemic #UKhousing
Despite the decline, City Hall mentioned the variety of starts in 2020/21 exceeds the annual goal agreed with authorities at the beginning of the pandemic.
A complete of 13,318 affordable houses had been began in 2020/21, in contrast with 17,256 in 2019/20.
An additional 2,600 open-market sale houses had been began underneath GLA programmes in 2020/21, bringing the whole variety of houses began to fifteen,918, a 24% drop on the earlier 12 months.
Social hire made up the most important share of houses constructed underneath GLA programmes final 12 months, accounting for six,162 (39%) of the whole.
The variety of affordable completions throughout the capital rose by 16%, to 9,051, in 2020/21.
This is the best variety of completions since Sadiq Khan turned mayor of London in 2016 and continues a development of affordable completions rising annually.
Newham Council was the borough with the best variety of each starts and completions final 12 months, having began 1,689 affordable houses and accomplished 1,275.
The newest figures present the GLA has delivered 65,089 affordable houses since 2016/17, which is roughly the interval masking Mr Khan’s first time period as mayor of London.
This is 63% greater than the variety of affordable houses delivered underneath grant programmes within the capital within the previous 5 years.
Mr Khan was re-elected mayor of London Last week, beating Conservative rival Shaun Bailey.
During the marketing campaign, candidates attacked Mr Khan for having, at the moment, delivered fewer than half of the 116,000 affordable housing starts he initially promised by 2022. This was pushed again to 2023 due to the coronavirus pandemic.
Mr Khan mentioned: “London’s housing disaster stays one of many biggest boundaries to addressing the inequality we face in our metropolis, and a key precedence for my second time period shall be doing all we will to beat it.
“Today’s figures present what councils, housing associations and the broader London housing sector have been capable of obtain regardless of the instability and uncertainty created by Brexit and the pandemic. They additionally underline the large progress made since I turned mayor, when simply three houses for social hire had been left within the pipeline by my predecessor.
“Despite exceeding my annual targets and beginning document numbers of affordable houses for Londoners, there’s nonetheless a mountain to climb – we have to go additional, quicker.
“I’m decided to construct on the document-breaking supply of genuinely affordable houses in my first time period as mayor to safe a brighter future for our metropolis.”
Helen Evans, chair of the G15 group of enormous London housing associations and chief govt of Network Homes, mentioned: “The pandemic has highlighted greater than ever the significance of excellent-high quality affordable houses to folks’s well being and properly-being.
“These figures present that housing associations have remained decided to maintain delivering the affordable houses Londoners want, regardless of the challenges posed by the pandemic.
“The G15 is proud to have contributed nearly six thousand of those new houses final 12 months and we stand able to proceed to assist the mayor’s housebuilding ambitions.”
Darren Rodwell, London Councils’ govt member for housing and planning and chief of Barking and Dagenham Council, mentioned: “With London dealing with essentially the most extreme homelessness disaster within the nation, boroughs are completely dedicated to delivering the affordable houses our metropolis wants.
“The development goes in the fitting course – however there might be no complacency. If we’re to proceed growing supply, we want the federal government to provide us the powers and sources required to spice up native housebuilding at mass scale. The authorities should step up and match London’s housing ambitions.”
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