Build up or build out — where should new homes go?

There are around 4,000 hectares of brownfield land in London: enough to build just 20 per cent of the houses we will need over the next 20 years
28 October 2013
WEST END FINAL

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New figures for soaring house prices in London will surprise few people, least of all the generation giving up on home ownership.

Half of all Brits under 35 say they have “given up all hope” of ever owning a property. Some will argue that this shift in expectations is a good thing, that we British have an unusual and unhealthy attachment to owning our homes. But the people making these arguments often do so from the comfort of their own position near the top of the property ladder.

Younger generations see things differently. Many want to own a home, just as their parents did, so that they can put down roots and start a family. But two-thirds of those saving for a deposit have become so disillusioned that they have simply given up. Adolescence is being extended, as twentysomethings live at home for longer, save less and put off having families until later.

Renting in the capital is hardly an alternative. This is the most expensive year ever to rent in London, yet wages are being squeezed. This leaves many families living in cramped conditions that are not fit for adults, let alone a decent childhood.

While there are too few houses, prices will simply go on rising. We must get building. But this demands honesty about the choices involved, including the key question of where the houses will go.

Successive mayors have argued that brownfield land — former industrial and commercial sites — is the answer. But it isn’t. There are around 4,000 hectares of brownfield land in London: enough to build just 20 per cent of the houses we will need over the next 20 years.

This means there are only two realistic options: build up or build out. The first of these — building up with tower blocks — should be approached with real caution. Ask people where they want to live and few will say the 14th floor. Ask people whether they want to live next door to a high-rise and the answer will be similarly negative.

The second option — building out — brings its own challenges. More homes on London’s outer ring would demand much better transport into the capital. But the biggest barrier here is political. Politicians of all sides are terrified of being accused of wanting to “pave over the countryside”. That’s why Boris Johnson is still bluffing about London’s “brownfield opportunity areas”.

Sooner or later we are going to have to face up to these choices. We should look at all options, including reclassifying parts of the green belt that do not live up to the name. People associate the green belt with woodland and open spaces but nearly a third is used for intensive farming.

Pursuing this option would mean smart thinking on transport — for example, by building new homes near existing stations. Different forms of financing will also have to be explored, from leveraging pension funds to borrow-to-build schemes for councils.

None of the options will be cheap, none will be easy and none will please everyone. But the price of doing nothing is too high. Just ask the young Londoners already paying it.

David Lammy is Labour MP for Tottenham. He is the chair of a new commission on housing in London hosted by the Royal Town Planning Institute.

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