Sadiq Khan plots tower blocks on London's green belt
The countryside on London's outskirts could soon be concreted over to make way for tower blocks as Sir Sadiq Khan throws his support behind building on the green belt.
The Mayor of London will on Friday announce plans to release more of the capital's green spaces for housing as he launches a consultation on the city's development strategy for the next two decades.
Sir Sadiq is expected to argue that parts of the green belt 'can often be low-quality land, poorly maintained and rarely enjoyed by Londoners' and would be better used as housing.
The mayor will say in a speech in Greenwich: 'Development on carefully chosen parts of the green belt – done in the right way – would allow us to unlock hundreds of thousands of good-quality new homes for Londoners.
'This would not only go a long way to ending the housing crisis but provide a huge boost to our economy.'
It represent a U-turn in his stance, having staunchly opposed green belt development in previous years in favour of construction on brownfield sites.
However, the change of heart comes as Sir Sadiq scrambles to hit has target to build 88,000 homes per year. His existing plan is only delivering around 40,000.
Recent findings by research company Molior show housebuilding in the capital has slumped to its lowest level since 2009, with works starting on just 1,120 private homes in the first quarter this year, and no works starting in 23 of London's 33 boroughs.
The move to open up London's green belt sparked an immediate backlash from campaigners and the Conservatives.
Alice Roberts, at CPRE London, the countryside charity, said: 'Our green belt is incredibly valuable. It's a home for nature, it's the countryside next door, it's important for agriculture close to the city, it's incredibly important for climate because of the need to plant trees, to absorb rainwater, to manage rainwater and surface flooding. There's no more important time to keep our green spaces green.'
David Mooney, chief executive of the London Wildlife Trust, said: 'We will fight hard to protect our nature-rich green belt and hold the mayor to account to make absolutely sure only the right sites are selected, and that nature is not shoved out the way.'
Susan Hall, leader of the City Hall Conservatives, said: 'Once again, Sadiq Khan has shown his true colours by dancing to the tune the Labour Government sets.
'This is a mayor who will sacrifice London's precious green spaces to appease his Labour paymasters.
'Londoners elected him on a promise to protect our environment, but it's now clear those promises weren't worth the recycled paper they were printed on.'
Andrew Boff, who represents the City Hall Conservatives on planning matters, said: 'The mayor has repeatedly stood in the London Assembly chamber and given categorical assurances that he would protect London's green belt.
'This announcement is a complete betrayal of those promises and shows utter contempt for Londoners who treasure these vital green spaces.'
A review is already under way in City Hall examining the scope to build on so-called grey belt land, but the mayor's plans are expected to go further than this.
A spokesman for the GLA said the focus will be on low-quality, poorly-maintained land rarely accessed by Londoners, with scope to build high-density housing and good transport links.
Earlier this year, Sir Sadiq was accused of presiding over a 'crusade' to build on parks in the capital, after a row broke out over suggestions from Transport for London to release historic land in Enfield for more than 10,000 homes.
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