Lessons from Europe in Tackling London’s Housing Crisis
April 2nd, 2014
This meeting took place at City Hall last Monday 31st March from 1830 – 2000 in principle, I arrived late at 1845 and the meeting ran on until 2015, an audio recording of the time I was there is available to listen to on YouTube at this link:-
Lessons from Europe in Tackling London’s Housing Crisis
This is the introductory text from the EventBrite advertisment:-
Housing is now undoubtedly the greatest policy challenge facing London government.
While recent evidence highlights a need for up to 62,000 new homes every year in London, in 2012/13 only 21,000 new homes were completed in the capital. This shortage of supply is fuelling inflation-busting rent rises in London’s private rented sector, with median London rents increasing by 13% in the year to October 2013. At the same time, affordable housing starts have dropped significantly, while the number of people sleeping rough in London has increased every single year since 2008.
This meeting will examine what City Hall and Whitehall can learn from continental Europe to address a housing crisis in London that now stretches across all tenures and affects all but the wealthiest of Londoner.
The meeting will be chaired by Dave Hill, the Guardian, and confirmed speakers include:
Claude Moraes did not appear to be present and the panel on the evening consisted from l to r from the audience perspective:-
Alex Hilton, Anastasia de Wall, Dave Hill (chair), Tom Copley, Mary Honeyball.
From the questions that were asked and my own observations I’d say the audience was as star studded as the panel. At least two Labour councillors, James Murray from Islington, and Emma Dent Coad from Wornington Green were in the audience. As were Nicky Gavron, Lizzie Clifford from the NHF, a man from Shelter, and many others connected with housing. It was an interesting and worthwhile evening.