Thousands of homes must be built on London’s green belt in order to fix the capital’s housing crisis, Sir Sadiq Khan will argue in a controversial speech on Friday. In a move billed by the mayor as a “radical step-change” at City Hall, Sir Sadiq will say he wants to be “honest with Londoners” that only building on already-developed brownfield land “will never be enough to meet the scale of the challenge”. The mayor’s promise to “forge a new consensus on planning that’s fit for 21st century London” was welcomed by Deputy Prime Minister and Housing Secretary Angela Rayner, who said Sir Sadiq had the Government’s “backing to deliver the housing this city needs”. But the mayor’s political opponents, along with the Campaign to Protect Rural England, believe his new approach will deliver “a devastating blow to the environment and our green spaces”.
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NewsTranscript
00:00We clearly face an extraordinary challenge but I'm determined to give everything we've got
00:07with a radical step change in our approach. In the short term this means accelerating delivery
00:14and unlocking developments that should have started already. At City Hall we've heard loud
00:20and clear the concerns from house builders about the building safety regulator causing
00:26unnecessary delays. So we'll work with the government to do everything we can to speed up the process.
00:34I also want to see local planning becoming much more flexible and focused on rapidly increasing
00:43the rate of building. It's vital that borrowers take a pragmatic approach to get permissions granted
00:50and when I don't see that happening I'll use my calling powers as mayor. My message to you
00:56house builders is this. I know how hard it is to build in London right now and I want to work together
01:05to do what's needed to get more shovels in the ground over the weeks and months ahead. In the medium term
01:12the development of the new London plan provides the opportunity for a new bold approach. Part of the
01:20solution will be making better use of the land we have, taking opportunities to increase the density
01:27of housing developments and working with councils and others to secure as many new homes as we can
01:34on brownfield sites. We have to be honest, we have to be honest with Londoners that this alone will not be
01:42sufficient to meet our needs and that's why I'm announcing today that City Hall's new position will be
01:52to actively explore the release of parts of London's green belt for development. Look, I know this is a
02:02contentious issue. So let me set out my reasoning and the wider context. London's green belt is the
02:11largest in the UK, covering over over half a million hectares. This makes it three times, three times as
02:21big as London itself. Within the London boundary we have the highest percentage of land designated as green
02:30belt of any city in England, just over a fifth. The perception of many people is that it's all beautiful
02:38countryside, green and pleasant land, rich with wildlife. The reality is very different. You know, only
02:46around 13% is made up of parks and areas that the public can access. 13%. So given the quality of parts of
02:56London's green belt and the extent of the housing crisis, I believe the current position is wrong,
03:04out of date and simply unsustainable. Development on carefully chosen areas of the green belt done in the
03:13right way would allow us to unlock hundreds of thousands of new homes. This would not only go a long
03:20way to ending the housing crisis, but provide a huge boost to our economy. And as mayor, I'm not willing
03:28to ignore such a prospect just because it might be politically difficult. Not when the life chances
03:35of the next generation of Londoners is on the line. Of course, national funding for housing and
03:42transfer infrastructure will play a pivotal role in our approach. Lastly, I want to make clear that I
03:49remain proud to be the greenest mayor London has ever had. And I don't see what I'm announcing today
03:57as running contrary to this. We have a strong record of building low carbon homes in London and helping
04:05to conserve and expand nature as part of our developments. Now let's work together to achieve
04:12something truly ambitious, delivering the housing we need while enhancing the environment and making
04:18London greener than ever before. Let me finish with this. My position on the green belt has changed
04:29because I believe this moment demands change. And I ask Londoners whose gut instincts might be against
04:37this solution to keep an open mind, to look at the latest evidence and to think about the damage
04:45this housing crisis is doing, the misery it's causing and the consequence of letting it drag down a
04:52generation of young people and the generation of young people that we have a responsibility to lift up.