Row over London housebuilding rates ahead of Michael Gove planning speech
A row has broken out over housebuilding rates in London ahead of a key speech by Michael Gove on planning reform.
Housing minister Lee Rowley has told LBC Radio that London’s Labour mayor Sadiq Khan needed to do more to build homes in the capital.
It comes as housing secretary Michael Gove is expected to set up a review of London’s housebuilding plan with a threat to remove Khan’s powers over planning if he does not agree to the changes.
Rowley said: “We have a long-standing concern that London is not delivering as many houses as it could do.
“And we think that the mayor is not helping in that instance. So we’re going to be making some further announcements on that later.”
He added that there were “schools in the middle of London that are closing at the moment because there’s not enough children on their rolls”.
But Khan hit back, insisting London had seen a rate of housing completion 20 per cent higher than the rest of the UK, since he was elected in 2016.
City Hall said government data showed the capital’s housing stock had risen by 9.1 per cent from 2016-2023, compared to 7.5 per cent outside of London, or 317,000 fewer homes.
Khan said: “Thirteen years of failure on housing by the Tory government has meant big cuts in investment and a go-slow on homebuilding nationally.
“The progress we are making in London is despite NIMBY Tory Ministers regularly intervening to block new building in the capital.”
He added: “Labour is the party of building, and as mayor, I’m determined to deliver homes Londoners need so that we can continue building a better, fairer London for everyone.”
Gove’s speech this morning is expected to see him set out plans for 150,000 more homes around Cambridge.