Zac Goldsmith today proposed knocking down thousands of ugly Fifties and Sixties council homes in London and rebuilding them for the benefit of communities.
In his first party conference speech, the Tory mayoral candidate said there were 3,500 estates in the capital that could be rebuilt to provide high-quality, low-rise homes.
He said residents would receive guarantees that they would not be priced out, as has happened in some major developments in London.
Mr Goldsmith set out his plans for community consent, which would give residents the power to force the Mayor to call in major developments. The Richmond Park MP has put tackling the housing crisis at the heart of his battle against Labour’s Sadiq Khan to win City Hall next May.
He said: “Consider the 3,500 Fifties and Sixties estates, many of them poorly designed, many of them coming to the end of their lives. With the consent of the local community — and with guarantees that they won’t be priced out — we have a chance to rebuild them and provide more homes, better communities, and more beautiful streetscapes.
“We know that high density doesn’t have to mean high-rise, alienating blocks, magnets for social problems. We can have attractive street-based developments that people actually want to live in.”
He said new developments would fail if politicians “disrespect and trample on” communities. His proposal will be boosted by the appointment of former Labour peer Lord Adonis as George Osborne’s infrastructure tsar. He has suggested demolishing council estates to make way for “city villages”, with more homes built at higher densities.
Mr Goldsmith also plans to set up a fund for major institutional investors to build affordable homes.
“Where homes are bought purely as investments and are left empty, that causes huge resentment,” he said. “So we can either close the doors to outside investors, which is what the Labour party wants to do, or we can capture finances and use it to build the homes we need on publicly owned land.”
Sadiq Khan said: “Zac Goldsmith is in complete denial - the Tories have made London’s housing crisis many times worse.
"His first test of putting Londoners' interests first will be the Tory housing bill next month. This whole bill is an assault on London and will make it harder for Londoners to buy or rent a home. Anyone serious about representing London must vote against it.”
MORE ABOUT