London's affordable housing targets could be slashed

Affordable housing targets in central London could be watered down under plans proposed by London’s new senior planning advisor Simon Milton.

Mr Milton said the 50% target was not achievable and efforts should be focused on maximising affordable housing across the city.

The Home Builders Federation (HBF) and British Property Federation (BPF) welcomed his comments and called for a focus on “achievable” goals.

The groups said cutting affordability requirements would improve the viability of developments and deliver more housing overall.

BPF director of residential policy Ian Fletcher said the definition of affordable housing should also be widened to include other types of housing, such as low-cost market homes.

He said: “Unrealistic demands on housing developments that the public needs, achieves nothing.

“Affordability is determined by a person’s income, not by the type of property.

“There are many providers of professional rented accommodation who could benefit from the definition of ‘affordable housing’ being widened, and there are thousands of Londoners looking for rental homes who would benefit as a result.”