Zac Goldsmith has represented Richmond Park and North Kingston in parliament since 2010, when he unseated Liberal Democrat MP Susan Kramer. The 41-year old’s constituency is predominantly affluent, on the outskirts of the capital, and a short tube journey away from the overheating core of the housing crisis. But housing is still integral to Goldsmith’s vision as a London mayoral candidate.
“We have reached a point where a very significant number of Londoners have effectively been priced out of their home city. You could be earning double the average London salary and still not be able to get on the housing ladder, so it’s a massive issue for Londoners and it’s also an issue for businesses, for the economy,” he says. The answer is to increase the supply of housing, and the Conservative candidate has said he wants to double the amount of houses London builds to around 50,000 a year.
So, how would he do that? “We need to free up publicly owned brownfield land,” says Goldsmith. “The second thing is to grow the transport network. There’s plenty of land that could be developed but isn’t. So for me transport is as much a ‘getting around’ issue as it is a housing issue. The two go hand in hand. I’m going to protect the TfL investment budget and find new ways of funding transport growth.”
Goldsmith is a former editor of environmental magazine the Ecologist and has threatened to stand down as MP over Heathrow expansion. He is also adamant that building on London’s green belt is not the solution to the city’s housing crisis. “London is almost half green space: it’s 47%, which is one of the reasons why London is a great city. We’re very protective of our green spaces. And we need to make maximum use of brownfield land before we even think of going anywhere near the green belt. We have enough land if we make use of it: we can make it accessible.”
Housing affordability, Goldsmith points out, is one of the biggest issues for Londoners, affecting a huge proportion of people in the city. “You have to build for people across the income spectrum. The trouble is at the moment you can be on an average income, around £34,000 to £35,000, and you’re never going to qualify for social housing, nor are you ever going to be able to buy a home outright.”
While Conservative policy has recently focused on home ownership, Goldsmith believes London in dire need of more rental provision. As well policies like starter homes for first-time buyers, he wants to ramp up provision of large-scale build for rent.His vision for London’s social housing, however, relies heavily on regeneration rather than more building. “We’re lucky in London at the moment that we have a much higher proportion of social housing than in comparative cities,” he says. “Across London it’s close to 30% and that’s enabled us to have mixed communities. I will back social housing, I will back local authorities and housing associations that want to increase supply. But I also want to invest in improving social housing; that’s why I’ve put a lot of emphasis on estates regeneration, but it’s a difficult and contentious area.
“That’s partly because it’s been done badly in the past. People are nervous, more than nervous – frightened, by the implications. But we have a huge opportunity to really greatly improve areas people are living in without locking them out.”
Goldsmith has promised to wait for resident approval before embarking on any regeneration projects. He says he would also ensure that no one would be pushed out of their community, or face big rent hikes, as a result of regeneration. “I think I’m the only candidate who is actively talking about the positives of estate regeneration and I think that’s almost indefensible.” He advocates the Create Streets model of lower-rise, high-density, more street-based development.
Other mayoral candidates have argued for more social housing, but Goldsmith refuses to be drawn on the breakdown of tenure of planned new homes. “I’m suspicious of targets for social housing or affordability targets – because no one comes close to meeting them on a consistent basis, I think they’re a cynical way of avoiding talking about how you’re going to deliver. So I’m avoiding targets.”
Who does Goldsmith see building the50,000 homes he promises? A mixture, he says. That includes housing associations, many of which have a good track record in building homes but are held back by access to land, and local authorities, many of which want to increase borrowing caps so they can build more.
But Goldsmith also sees a role for oft-maligned overseas investors. He points to Manchester, which has created an investment opportunity for overseas investors by linking up with pension funds and developing large-scale build-for-rent on publicly owned land.
“That is something that we can use in London,” he says. “It turns something that is seen as a negative today – overseas investors buying up our property – into a positive. Because you end up providing homes for Londoners. We don’t want London to be a place where people don’t want to invest. Equally, it causes massive resentment and doesn’t contribute to solutions when that investment simply takes housing stock out of the market.”
Does Goldsmith believe, as a Conservative, he’d have better access and leverage with the Treasury as mayor? “It’s not a Labour/Conservative thing,” he says. “Yes, clearly I would and have a record in standing up to government on a whole range of issues, but also getting a good deal from government.
“I do feel Sadiq Khan is a fundamentally partisan politician. He never made any attempt to talk to the government about police cuts, which thankfully didn’t happen, he never made any effort to talk to the housing minister about the housing bill, never made any effort to talk to the transport minister about the suburban rail franchises. All key issues for London – and I don’t think you can be a successful mayor of London if you’re not willing to work with the same government on which London completely depends. It’s not a party issue, it’s an issue of personality.”Join the Guardian Housing Network to read more pieces like this. Follow us on Twitter (@GuardianHousing) and like us on Facebook to keep up with the latest social housing news and views.
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