LREF: Respected industry figure Sir Stuart Lipton has voiced the need for a housing tsar with powers beyond those of local planning authorities and state landowners to address London’s housing shortfall.
Speaking at an EG round table at LREF today, Lipton said: “Why don’t we go to the root of it, stop blaming developers and people hoarding land and have a free supply of housing, which means having a housing tsar.
“This would be someone in charge, treating London and the South East differently from the rest of the country, with a right over planning.
“A housing tsar would have powers from a group of chaps who have a diversity of interests and they would override local authority powers – but in a civilised way,” he said.
Lipton hailed the King’s Cross regeneration an exemplar of housing development, due to its variety of buildings, including high rises. He compared this with the landscape in neighbouring Islington where residential buildings reached only four floors “because that is all people would climb in the 19th century”.
Local authorities, he said, should be looking to develop taller buildings along stretches where housing estates currently stand at four storeys or less.
Lipton’s call for a housing leader with overarching powers was met with cynicism from other leading industry figures at the event, concerned over the wrestling of control from local authorities.
But they agreed that drastic measures were required, particularly to free up brownfield land sites.
Large owners of public land, such as the NHS and Ministry of Defence, should be given a “use it or lose it” ultimatum, they discussed.
Robert Evans, partner at Argent, said: “There is plenty of land tied up in quangos, arms-length organisation and trusts and the question should be asked why are they holding on to it and if there is no good reason, then take it.”
Participants in the round table included:
Sir Stuart Lipton, Lipton Rogers
Robert Evans, Argent
John Gooding, Dolphin Living
Henry Pryor, buying agent/commentator
Simon Hodson, JLL
Thomas Stevenson, JLL
Andrew Pratt, Patrizia Immobilien
Darragh Hurley, Mount Anvil
Andy Algar, Wandsworth borough council
Sara Bailey, Trowers & Hamlins
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