Architects say changes to London housing design standards are distracting

The proposed changes to the London Plan have drawn a mixed reaction from the industry

The Architects’ Journal sought New-works views in response to the proposed changes to the London plan aimed at accelerating house-building. Co-founder Doug Hodgson’s shared his thoughts, as quoted in the AJ:

The proposed changes to London’s housing design standards risk distracting from the real crisis: the shortage of genuinely affordable and high-quality social rent homes. Core design, daylight and ventilation are already regulated, and design justification is still required.

Focus has to be on social rent housing, with over 65,000 families currently living in temporary accommodation across London boroughs. Even if 60 per cent of the 20 per cent fast-tracked affordable homes were social rent, this would only contribute around 5,000 new social rent homes annually, far short of what our communities need now and in the future.

The expectation that private developers can solve our housing crisis is flawed. Over the past decade, London has delivered on average under 40,000 new homes per year, with around a third classified affordable or social rent. Clearly a new way of tackling this crisis is needed to achieve the new target of 88,000 new homes per year.

To deliver the missing 48,000 new homes per year, we need publicly led development paid for by UK pension funds, providing 100 per cent affordable and social rent new homes, that are sustainable, high-quality and robustly designed by architects in collaboration with communities. This model should be replicated across the country to meet the local need.