Mayor at odds with Government over Green Belt – ‘Green Belt building won’t lower house prices’
Barnet and Camden Labour London Assembly member Andrew Dismore challenged Mayor Boris Johnson during Mayor’s Questions today over the Conservative Government’s scheme to allow house building in the Green Belt.
Dismore questions Boris on Green Belt from Andrew Dismore on Vimeo.
The Mayor indicated that he stuck by the London Plan, which does not permit development in the Green Belt, contrary to the Government’s scheme to relax planning laws and allow building of starter homes in pockets of the Green Belt.
After Mayor’s Questions, Mr Dismore commented:
“It’s no good Boris saying he’s against his own Government’s plans for building in the Green Belt , if he can’t tell us how he’s going to stop it. We have heard absolutely nothing from Boris about how he is going to get the Tory Government to pull back from this.”
Supporting the need to protect the Green Belt, Mr Dismore asked the Mayor:
‘‘What do you think a so called ‘starter home’ built in the Green Belt in Mill Hill would cost? A good indicator is nearby Millbrook Park, just outside the Green Belt. Prices start from £400,000 for a 1 bed flat up to £700,000 for a small house, and way beyond, up to £1 million.
“Even after any discount, this is way beyond local young people, your government’s target group, in need of a home. Shelter has found that in London, a £77k salary would be required to buy a starter home. How many young people do you know on that kind of income?
“The fact is, this won’t lead to new genuinely affordable homes being built, it will just increase the value of the land, with windfalls for landowners and speculators.”
For further information call Andrew Dismore 07957 625 813
Notes for editors:
1 Millbrook Park prices
One Bedroom Cala Homes apartment £399,950 https://www.cala.co.uk/homes-for-sale/north-home-counties/cala-at-millbrook-park/zenith/plot-47#content-extract
Two bedroom Annington Homes apartment going for £300,000-£399,000 as the minimum price range. http://www.themount-millbrookpark.co.uk/
Cheapest Linden Homes available is for 3 bed terraced house (scroll down and click “availability and prices”). http://london.lindenhomes.co.uk/developments/london/millbrook-park-mill-hill/availability-prices
2 Government consultation on relaxation of planning rules: Green belt paragraph:
We …. propose to amend national planning policy so that neighbourhood plans can allocate appropriate small-scale sites in the Green Belt specifically for starter homes, with neighbourhood areas having the discretion to determine the scope of a small-scale site.’ (para 49)
