Correspondence

Letter: Housing delivery in London

Published 30 September 2024

Applies to England

To: Sadiq Khan, Mayor of London

From: Rt Hon Angela Rayner MP, Deputy Prime Minister and Secretary of State for Housing, Communities & Local Government

Date: 30 September 2024

Housebuilding in London

Dear Sadiq

We both appreciate the need to urgently deliver more homes of all tenures if we are to tackle the housing crisis and boost economic growth and I know you share my commitment to doing so.

Achieving our Manifesto commitment of 1.5 million new homes over five years is a priority for this government, and an essential prerequisite of this is reform of the planning system. That is why we launched a consultation on proposed reforms to the National Planning Policy Framework (NPPF), including a new Standard Method for assessing housing needs, in our first month in office.

As we set out at the time of launching the consultation on this revised NPPF, this government recognises that the current Standard Method, which applies an arbitrary 35% uplift to each and every London borough, results in a target for the capital that is divorced from reality. It effectively made tens of thousands of homes a fiction, existing on paper but never realistically planned for, when if reallocated to other places these numbers could have been delivered. The government is clear that it needs revision.

Our proposed new Standard Method produces an ambitious but deliverable figure for London of nearly 81,000. To achieve it, output in the capital will have to increase markedly from the current average of 37,200 homes per year (2019 to 2023). I appreciate fully the scale and breadth of the housing delivery challenge in London, and I recognise that the city faces unique issues, but the government does expect London to take steps to boost its output.

As a demonstration of the government’s commitment to working in partnership with you to that end, I am today withdrawing the previous administration’s direction of 18 March 2024 requiring you to complete a partial review of the London Plan by 30 September 2024, which was given under section 340(2) of the Greater London Authority Act 1999.

It is my considered view that a review of industrial land and Opportunity Area policies is better undertaken as part of the wider London Plan review that you are due to undertake to adopt an updated Plan, given that these elements cannot be meaningfully considered in isolation. Withdrawing the direction will allow the government and the Greater London Authority to take a new partnership approach on our shared aim to deliver the homes London needs. This will be critical to achieving our joint goal of tackling the housing crisis.

As we look ahead to opportunities to deliver for Londoners, we will want to work together on our shared priorities. Our joint focus can now turn to our proposed changes to the National Planning Policy Framework and other changes to the planning system, including proposals to optimise density by providing increased certainty in relation to brownfield development and to release low-quality grey belt sites through Green Belt reviews.

The Housing Minister will lead a roundtable with stakeholders to discuss ways to increase housing delivery and will work closely with your Deputy Mayors to take forward key strategic priorities with the sector over the upcoming months. I look forward to our close collaboration, to deliver for Londoners and for the country.

Yours sincerely,

Rt Hon Angela Rayner MP
Deputy Prime Minister and Secretary of State for Housing, Communities & Local Government