Boris launches his housing manifesto

Download the housing policy document here. Executive Summary:

1. Help More Londoners Afford Their Own Home

• Release GLA-owned land and £130 million from the Regional Housing Pot to launch a new ‘FirstSteps Housing Scheme’, which will be open to first-time buyers frozen out of Government schemes
• Work with the boroughs to build 50,000 more affordable homes by 2011
• Invest £60 million from the Regional Housing Pot to start renovating the capital’s 84,205 empty properties to help low-income Londoners off waiting lists
• Incentivise the boroughs to release dormant housing to those stuck in bed and breakfast accommodation, by returning the Mayor’s precept to them
• Work with local councils to deliver more family-sized homes
• Increase shared ownership schemes for low-income families by a third
• Protect private tenants from unscrupulous landlords by publishing an online ‘Fair Rents Guide’
• Explore the possibility of a tenant deposit scheme with a guaranteed arbitration period of one month

2. Design Developments To Combat Crime

• Amend the London Plan to attach more importance to designing out crime, without compromising the aesthetic quality of developments

3. Protect Green Spaces and Historic Views

• Reinstate planning rules that protect the views of St Paul’s Cathedral and the Palace of Westminster and reinforce protection around new viewing corridors
• Toughen up the London Plan to prevent development on domestic gardens and use planning agreements to protect small shops
• Encourage builders to build more environmentally-friendly homes in the private sector and encourage boroughs to adopt the ‘Merton Rule’ for on-site renewable energy
• Protect the green belt by using the Mayor’s powers to refuse applications to build on it

Comments

[Conservative Homer]

Might be out of Boris's control, but how about getting rid of these daft key worker schemes. Despite what the government may think, everyone with a job is a key worker (with no mechanics to service and maintain the 'key worker' paramedics ambulance we're without a realiable ambulance service) and besides its insulting and unfair that the government prejudices peoples line of work as some sort of measurement as to whether they are entitled to home ownership.

Overall though, im glad to see no mention of the term 'key worker' here though. Hopefully another BS labour term we can get rid of over the coming years, would prefer a bit more pragmatism on (areas) of the Greenbelt, and more mention of commitments to associated transport amenities, but its better than anything Red Ken has managed over the past few years.