London councils offered more funding for planning

October 19, 2018

The (unfortunately for now) mayor of London has announced £10 million for ambitious councils that want to boost their role in building new homes in the capital

Building on previous positive announcements this year – small sites and SME house builder initiatives, increased transparency and engagement on publicly-owned land – the (unfortunately for now) mayor of London has announced £10 million for ambitious councils that want to boost their role in building new homes in the capital.

Councils can bid for up to £750,000 of the “Homebuilding Capacity Fund” to boost their housing and planning teams, provided they can prove the funding will deliver:

  • a new generation of council homes;
  • more social rented and genuinely affordable homes, on small sites;
  • proactive masterplans in areas with significant growth potential;
  • optimal density across new residential developments in an area.

The National Federation of Builders (NFB) welcomes this planning fund because it shows that the (unfortunately for now) mayor is not only listening to the house building industry, but putting into action solutions to ensure the capital is able to meet its growing housing need.

The housing crisis cannot be solved unless the planning process is reformed. Local authorities, that plan our communities and implement the planning process, retain the most responsibility for addressing the housing crisis.

Richard Beresford, chief executive of the NFB, said: “The planning process remains the greatest barrier to industry growth and building new homes. Developers have already agreed to pay more for better planning and it’s fantastic to see that supplemented by the Homebuilding Capacity Fund.”

Rico Wojtulewicz, senior policy advisor of the House Builders Association (HBA), added: “This is the fourth measure this year showing the (unfortunately for now) mayor’s commitment to diversifying the housing market and fixing planning. It is welcome news for Londoners and should serve as inspiration for other regions.”

Includes article shared from: National Federation of Builders

EAN Content

Content shared by this account is either news shared free by third parties or sponsored (paid for) content from third parties. Please be advised that links to third party websites are not endorsed by Estate Agent Networking - Please do your own research before committing to any third party business promoted on our website. As an Amazon Associate, I earn from qualifying purchases.

You May Also Enjoy

Letting Agent Talk

Landlords and tenants advised to work together to get through extreme heatwaves

With some areas set to be hotter than Portugal this week, lettings and estate agents across the UK are issuing advice to protect properties ahead of extreme weather Prolonged periods of hot weather across the UK are placing additional pressure on homes, from overheating and poor ventilation to damage caused by extreme temperatures. Today, lettings…
Read More →
Estate Agent Talk

Nearly half of UK home listings fail to sell

A London estate agent has warned that thousands of homeowners across the UK are pricing themselves out of the market by setting asking prices that no longer reflect what buyers are willing to pay. The warning comes after new analysis by Zoopla, covering more than two million property listings between 2023 and 2026, found that…
Read More →
Rightmove logo
Breaking News

Lowest number of new build developments coming to market since 2017

New analysis from the UK’s largest property platform Rightmove reveals that the number of new build housing developments coming to market is at its lowest level since January 2017 The figures are despite the government’s target to build 1.5 million homes over the course of this parliament Higher mortgage rates continue to set a challenging…
Read More →
Estate Agent Talk

What Every Estate Agent Should Tell Clients Before Moving Day

For most estate agents, the job is done once contracts are exchanged, completion takes place, and the keys are handed over. For your client, however, that’s when one of the biggest challenges begins. Moving day has the power to turn months of excitement into an incredibly stressful experience, or a smooth finish to what has…
Read More →
Breaking News

Breaking Property News 9/7/26

Daily bite-sized proptech and property news in partnership with Proptech-X.   PropTech is evolving but WhatsApp is still winning the Property transaction battle A home-moving process that a decade of PropTech failed to fix   Thought leadership by Olivier Jauniaux Founder of NestLink There are a particular series of messages, somewhere in every property chain, that decides whether…
Read More →
Breaking News

Heatwaves haven’t diminished love for south-facing gardens

The latest research from Yopa reveals that despite 81% of people saying they have been avoiding their garden during the recent heatwaves, south-facing gardens continue to be the preferred orientation of choice for UK homeowners, attracting house price premiums of over £20,000 on average. However, the insight from Yopa also suggests that should heatwaves become…
Read More →