City Hall developer could boost London housing by 1,600 homes

London mayor Sadiq Khan’s City Hall developer could unlock new sites for housing in the capital by bringing together land from across the city that will attract private sector investment. Campaign group BusinessLDN and the real estate team at PwC have consulted with developers, investors and housing associations on Khan’s manifesto pledge to create “an expanded City Hall developer”, a commitment made in 2021. The pair’s report says the City Hall developer should focus on working with public sector landowners to unlock sites for housing development through a land assembly and promotion model, identifying surplus land, taking those sites through the planning process and then releasing them to private delivery partners. The report estimates that with an initial investment of £100m, the City Hall developer could enable the delivery of 1,600 additional new homes over a 10-year period. John Dickie, chief executive of BusinessLDN, said: “London needs to build more homes but tough market conditions in recent years have led to housebuilding in the capital grinding to a halt. High housing costs are hitting the capital’s competitiveness by making it harder to recruit and retain staff as well as exacerbating broader social challenges. “This new City Hall developer can play a vital part in boosting delivery of new homes, particularly affordable housing, by opening up sites that the private sector is unable to take forward alone and attracting much-needed additional investment. It needs to go hand-in-hand with other measures from the new government and mayor, such as planning reform, to increase supply so more Londoners can afford to live and work in the city.” James Bailey, UK housing leader at PwC, added: “Increasing the supply of good quality, safe and affordable homes is integral to the ongoing success of London as a global and inclusive city. The challenging macroeconomic environment in recent years has exacerbated this need. “Against that backdrop, [the] City Hall developer has the potential to offer a compelling opportunity for the GLA to collaborate with partners across the public and private sectors – including other developers and investors – to unlock land and accelerate the delivery of much-needed housing.” Photo © Omar Marques/SOPA Images/Shutterstock