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New London mayor to have £1bn of unspent cash to solve housing crisis, according to report

A new report by the Housing and Finance Institute (HFI) think tank has claimed that the new London mayor will have over £1bn of government funds to spend on the capital’s housing.

The ‘How to build more London homes, faster’ report, released today, also outlines a six point plan that the next mayor should follow in order to speed up the planning and construction of new homes.

According to HFI, City Hall and all 32 of London’s boroughs are sitting on a cash pile of surplus housing money totalling £1bn that should be put to use, while billions more could be made available through funding pots, grants and land values.

These cash reserves form a central pivot of the think tank’s plan, which also claims that land in and around the capital could support another 1m homes if space and land were utilised more effectively.

New housing developments currently fall well short of the estimated 50,000 new homes that are required to support London’s burgeoning population.

According to the report, there has been a consistent annual shortfall of 25,000 homes for over ten years, meaning that, at current rates, the city will be unable to meet its housing targets by 2040.

Natalie Elphicke, HFI’s Chief Executive, said: “Whoever wins the keys to City Hall on May 5 has a huge challenge on their hands in delivering the homes that London needs.

“To solve this housing crisis, London needs a fully comprehensive plan that brings together public and private sector partners and some new innovative thinking. The proposals we set out today can help us build the 50,000 homes a year Londoners are crying out for.”

Figures released by property firm JLL showed that approval rates for new home developments in the first quarter of this year had fallen by 64% in comparison to the same time last year.

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