| Topic: | Reply | |
| Posted by: | Gordon Southwell | |
| Date/Time: | 25/06/26 09:32:00 |
One of the arguments in favour of Broadway Living was that it would have given the council more control over the affordable housing component and allowed a higher proportion of social rent. For third party developments I can't see that the lack of enforcement of affordable housing requirements is the problem at the moment. That surely is that hardly any housing of any kind are being built at the moment which is partly down to councils, including Ealing insisting on levels that make developments uneconomic. The system has yet to adjust to the fact that rising interest rates and construction costs has meant that it is simply impossible to build homes profitably if a third or more are 'affordable' and then built at a loss. This would be the case even if the primary market for private sector flats had not collapsed. There are no easy answers here but in my view the wrong way to go is to continue insist on high affordability targets. The quest to make some housing affordable has made all housing unaffordable and in Ealing has forced a move to skyscraper living in an area blessed by the Victorians and Edwardians with beautiful low rise homes. We should stop pretending we are not in a crisis situation and recognise the first priority is to remove the distortions that are leading to building of unsaleable flats. An affordable housing target is a tax on new homes so the best way to start dealing with the homeless issue is to remove this tax. |