The Mayor of London is advised to tackle the capital's housing crisis

The Mayor of London, Sadiq Khan, has been advised to use his planning powers to kickstart a 21st-century modular housing revolution.

The London Assembly suggested Khan creates a standard design code for off-site manufacturing, designating public land and speeding up planning in a bid to help solve London’s housing crisis.

A detailed report, written by London Assembly’s planning committee member Nicky Gavron, recommended investigating the potential of using TfL-owned land to stimulate the OSM sector.

She said: “OSM housing is an innovative, forward-thinking and exciting way to close the gap. The lack of a single design standard or mass-market demand has held back the sector’s growth.

“This is a once-in-a-generation opportunity to work collaboratively with investors, developers and policymakers at a time when experts and central and local governments are all calling for the same thing to happen.”

According to the report, an innovative approach is crucial in reaching the target of 50,000 new homes which are needed every year to meet the high demand of London.

The chief executive of Cast Consultancy and author of the Farmer Review, Mark Farmer, said: “[The report] sends a message that now is the time to show strong political leadership to establish a mainstream precision-manufactured housing market.

“There is also a great opportunity for the Mayor to align with national policy and the growing cross party consensus on the role of offsite manufacturing as well as tying this into his separate ‘Skills for Londoners’ manifesto commitment.”

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