Ealing Council expects to see “an increased housing target”

Following a Government announcement last week that it is to give councils in England including Ealing mandatory targets to build 1.5 million new homes in five years, Ealing Council has said it expects to see “an increased housing target in the next London Plan” for the borough.

Currently, it has a target of 2,157 homes a year but following the new mandatory targets, Ealing Council said it will be working with the “GLA to help ensure a sustainable approach to development across London.”

Announcing the target of 1.5 million new homes, Deputy Prime Minister and Secretary of State for Housing, Angela Rayner said: “I will not hesitate to do what it takes to build 1.5 million new homes over five years and deliver the biggest boost in social and affordable housebuilding in a generation.”

Ms Rayner added: “We must all do our bit and we must all do more. We expect every local area to adopt a plan to meet their housing need. The question is where the homes and local services people expect are built, not whether they are built at all.”

Speaking to EALING.NEWS, an Ealing Council spokesperson said: “In the capital, the London Plan sets each borough’s housing targets. This will continue to be the case following the publication of the new National Policy Planning Framework (NPPF).”

“The new government figures published last week suggest a London-wide target of circa 88,000 homes a year, significantly more than the circa 52,000 homes a year set out in the current Plan. This suggests all London boroughs, including Ealing, can expect an increased housing target in the next London Plan.

The spokesperson added: “The current target is 2,157 homes a year for Ealing Local Planning Authority (OPDC has its own target).  We will work with the GLA to help ensure a sustainable approach to development across London.”

London Councils, a cross-party organisation that represents London’s 32 borough councils and the City of London, welcomed the launch of the new National Planning Policy Framework last week.

Leader of Ealing Council, Councillor Peter Mason, London Councils’ executive member for planning and skills, said: “Boroughs are strongly in favour of housebuilding and growing London’s economy, and we welcome the clear direction being set by the government through the new National Planning Policy Framework.”

He added: “Planning reform is an important part of the jigsaw, but housebuilding in London faces an array of serious challenges, with spiralling construction costs, high interest rates, insufficient and overly rigid funding, and a lack of investment in local infrastructure posing significant financial barriers to the delivery of new homes. Alongside the Mayor of London, boroughs will continue making the case for the investment we need to unlock stalled sites in the capital and work with ministers to deliver the housing we all want to see.”