Yahoo Finance Use disused parts of capital's Green Belt to build affordable homes, urges London Chamber of Commerce
The Mayor of London should build affordable housing in poor quality areas of the capital's Green Belt, a new report has argued.
The London Chamber of Commerce and Industry mapped the ‘brownspace’ – derelict and underdeveloped land within the Metropolitan Green Belt in London – and found more than 800 acres which could be built on.
Colin Stanbridge, chief executive of LCCI, said: “It is a misconception that all Green Belt is lush parkland. Our research found hundreds of hectares of brownspace which is poor quality or disused space – and makes-up just one percent of the Green Belt."
In a new report, it has argued that this land could be used to build 20,000 homes to house emergency services workers. It found that 54pc of police, firefighters and paramedics live outside London due to the cost of housing.
The 813 acres of 'brownspace' it found represents less than 1pc of the Green Belt within London while 7pc of it is covered by golf courses. These unused areas include former quarries and landfill sites, as well as idle land and storage areas.
The report urged the Mayor, who last month released his planning strategy in the draft London plan, to take an active role in developing these proposed homes for emergency services workers.
However, Sadiq Khan pledged that he would not build on the Green Belt and pledged to increase the amount of green space in the capital to 50pc by 2050.
He said last month: “Since I took office I have refused a number of developments which would have caused harm to the Green Belt. With my new London Plan I’m sending a clear message to developers that building on or near the Green Belt must respect and protect this vital natural resource.”
