Boris Johnson’s Mount Pleasant ruling robs London of 111 desperately needed affordable homes
– Boris Johnson grants permission for 111 fewer affordable homes than could be built
– Mayor accused of “trampling over the rights and views of local people”
Boris Johnson’s expected decision to force through the controversial Mount Pleasant planning application despite local opposition at today’s planning hearing today has been labelled ‘shamefully counterproductive’ by Labour London Assembly Member Andrew Dismore.
The Mayor is expected to grant planning permission for the redevelopment after using his mayoral powers to overrule Camden and Islington Councils who voted against the application. The move came after Royal Mail Group, the recently privatised company behind the development, wrote to the Mayor asking him to take the decision out of the hands of the local authorities.
Camden and Islington Councils have shown that the site should provide at least 40% of the new homes as affordable housing and would still generate substantial profit for the developers. Today’s decision only requires less than 24% of the housing to be affordable. This means 111 fewer affordable homes than Camden and Islington had called for.
Labour London Assembly Member for Barnet and Camden, Andrew Dismore AM, said:
“In just a few months Royal Mail has gone from a public institution to a private company intent on selling off its assets with no regard for local communities.
“Not only will the Mayor’s decision rob London of 111 desperately needed affordable homes, it has shown developers that they can get away with far lower levels of affordable housing if they go running to the Mayor. By removing this planning decision out of the hands of local councils Boris Johnson has shown he is more interested in protecting the profit margins of big companies than he is in listening to local concerns.
“The Mayor’s approach to Mount Pleasant has been shamefully counterproductive. Throughout the process he has trampled over the rights and views of local people, and now he leaves them with less hope than ever that they will be able to afford a home on this historic site.”
ENDS
Notes
– Andrew Dismore is the Labour London Assembly Member for Barnet and Camden.
– The Planning Hearing report can be found at https://www.london.gov.uk/sites/default/files/Hearing%20report_0.pdf
