No. 41/04

Press Release: Wednesday 18 August 2004

How much housing does London need now and will it need in the future? How can we speed up the supply and ensure that existing housing is fit for purpose? What kind of housing will we need in 2016? Who will we be housing?

The Housing Corporation has taken this opportunity to contribute to the vision for housing in London. The Corporation, the Government's affordable housing agency, has offered its ideas for and experience of developing good practice in London.

It is vital that the London Housing Strategy is both ambitious in its vision and practical in its delivery. The Corporation's contribution reflects what has worked in the past and what may work in the future, with key points being:

• The pan-London housing strategy should provide a vision for London in 2016. It should marry national priorities for housing with the unique demands of the capital contained in its spatial development and economic strategies.
• It should be informed by sub-regions, which can add value in developing and promoting appropriate solutions, to reflect their differing market contexts.
• There are already many good ideas and solutions at sub-regional and borough level. These should be shared more widely, and boroughs should be encouraged to share good practice.
• The planning system can still do more to maximise the contribution to the supply of affordable housing.
• Access to the housing provided must reflect the ethnicity of London's diverse population and delivery on this should be monitored and evaluated.
• There is a real opportunity for RSLs and others to play a full part in the range and diversity of housing provision across London.
• The Housing Corporation's role will be to continue to facilitate delivery. The Corporation is committed to ensuring that its investment activity will produce the right homes, of the right size and type, in the right places and at the right price. This should be in line with Government and regional housing strategy priorities.
• The Corporation will continue to develop its ideas around longer term and volume programmes to achieve economies of scale and speed up delivery.

The Housing Corporation's full response is attached, or available at www.housingcorp.gov.uk. Other agencies' responses are at www.go-london.gov.uk/housing/dev_lhs.asp

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For more information please contact Robert Davies on 020 7393 2227 or email: robert.davies@housingcorp.gsx.gov.uk

Notes to Editors

The Housing Corporation is the Government agency responsible for regulating and investing in over 2,000 housing associations in England. Its biggest ever investment programme of £3.3 billion for 2004-06 will fund over 67,000 affordable homes. 16,000 of these will go to key workers and 25% will use some form of modern methods of construction. In London, £1.5bn will deliver 25,000 new homes.