Siân Berry, Green Mayor of London candidate launched the Green housing policies for London in Kings Cross, on the border of Camden and Islington, on Monday 7th April.
Siân is a Camden resident and has spent several years campaigning for a development in Kings Cross which provides the affordable, family homes the people in the local area need.
Siân was joined by Alex Goodman, a Green Party activist who is standing in the Camden council by-election, also to be held on May 1 in the Highgate ward.
Alex is a barrister who worked on the legal challenge to decision of Camden Council in 2007 to approve the Argent development at Kings Cross, despite it providing only 40% affordable housing, not the London Plan target of 50%, with most of these small flats, rather than family homes.
Also on the campaign trail was Aled Fisher, the Green candidate for the North East constituency. Aled has just been elected General Secretary of the LSE Students’ Union and, at 21, is the youngest candidate in the election.
The Greens’ policies for housing include:
- Increase the affordable housing requirement to 60% in new developments
- Change the definition of ‘affordable’ to provide more rented homes and make sure they stay affordable
- Take a tough line with developers who try to dodge the affordability requirement
- Lobby the government to cancel the borough’s housebuilding debt so London can get building social housing again
- Give free insulation to every home
- Create a London Fuel Poverty Strategy to monitor and reduce fuel poverty
- Provide low-cost loans to householders who want to install renewable energy technology
- Set targets to increase the stock of sheltered housing and accessible housing
- Encourage car-free housing developments and secure bicycle parking
Siân said: "If you ask most Londoners what their single biggest financial hurdle is, it’s the cost of getting a roof over their heads. Quickly followed by keeping it there.
"While developers throw up thousands of luxury flats, the city is crying out for good quality housing that ordinary people can afford.
"I’ll make sure developers include real affordable housing – for rent not just one-off sales – in all new developments. And I will increase the target for these homes in the London Plan to 60%.
"I know I’ll get opposition. I know that vested interests don’t want to lose profits by building homes that are within the reach of ordinary people. But I’m going to use the Mayor’s planning powers to defend those people for once, and I’m confident we’ll get the homes we need."