“This report sets out a plan for the new mayor to address these challenges. It calls on the mayor to commit to making London a ‘global green city’, in which environmental goals are prioritised as central to the city’s vision of economic and social development.

The mayor should:

• Mandate Transport for London to assess the feasibility of an expanded road-pricing scheme that simultaneously tackles air pollution, congestion and CO2 emissions, and raises revenue for public transport, cycling and walking.
• Establish a city energy company, Energy for London, to supply electricity, gas and energy-efficiency services to Londoners and increase investment in solar power and renewable heating.

KEY CHALLENGES

• Air pollution in London was responsible for as many as 141,000 life years lost, or the equivalent of around 9,400 deaths, in 2010. This came at an economic cost of up to £3.7 billion. Driven primarily by emissions from transport, its impacts fall disproportionally on lower-income groups and children: nearly 25 per cent of school children are exposed to levels of air pollution that break EU and WHO legal and health limits.
• Without new policies to manage increased traffic demand, there will be an estimated 43 per cent increase in passenger vehicle miles between 2013 and 2030. The resulting congestion will decrease average road speeds, from 21mph today to an estimated 16mph by 2030, with speeds in central London significantly below this. Slower speeds mean greater delays and unpredictability in journey times, leading to higher economic costs.
• In 2013, around 10 per cent of households in London were classified as fuel poor, with an average fuel poverty gap of £304 per annum. London has some of the most energy inefficient housing in Europe, the highest average gas bills in the UK, and among the lowest rates of gas and electricity consumer switching.
• London must almost completely decarbonise by the middle of the century as part of the global effort to reduce net greenhouse gas emissions to zero beyond 2050, as set out in the Paris Agreement on climate change concluded in December 2015. However, London’s emissions reductions are currently off the pace required to meet the existing mayoral targets, which are themselves only part of the journey to full decarbonisation.
• Nearly 2 million Londoners live more than 1 kilometre from open green space, with a third of London families visiting natural spaces fewer than six times a year. The number of visits continues to decline, and at a higher rate among low-income and in some ethnic and minority groups. Between 2009 and 2012, more than 215 hectares of green space disappeared in London, an area equivalent to the size of Hyde Park and Battersea Park combined.
• Over 160,000 people already work in an environmental sector that saw over £25 billion of sales in 2011/12.
• London’s population is forecast to grow from around 8.5 million today to more than 10 million by 2031, and perhaps as much as 13 million by 2050, increasing demand for housing, transport, energy, water and other resources, with significant consequences for congestion, economic costs, public health, and the sense of space and social cohesion.

KEY RECOMMENDATIONS

The next mayor of London should aim to make London a ‘global green city’, in which environmental goals are prioritised as central to the city’s vision of economic and social development. The mayor should:

Tackle London’s air pollution and congestion problems by:

• Mandating Transport for London to assess the feasibility of anexpanded road-pricing scheme bringing together the current congestion charging and ultra-low-emissions zones. Such a scheme, potentially covering the areas inside the north and south circular roads, would simultaneously tackle air pollution, congestion and CO2 emissions. It would raise revenue to reinvest in public transport, cycling and walking, to support the expansion of electric vehicles and car-sharing schemes, and to provide assistance to adversely affected small businesses.
• Ensuring the TfL bus fleet meets air pollution standards by 2019.
• Continuing strong investment in cycling and walking infrastructure, with a particular emphasis on safety.
• Expanding the electric vehicles charging network.
• Promoting car-sharing schemes, including the introduction of uniform on-street parking permits for car-sharing schemes across London.

Reduce fuel poverty and support renewable and decentralised energy by:

• Establishing Energy for London, a fully licensed electricity and gas supplier, energy services company, and energy manager for the Greater London Authority and Transport for London.
• Developing a dedicated solar strategy with a target to increase solar capacity to at least 750MW by 2025.
• Developing a dedicated efficiency and heat strategy to capture wasted heat and retrofit London’s homes and workplaces.

Integrate environmental goals within London’s planning, economic and community development strategies by:

• Establishing London as a national park city to provide an overarching vision and framework for the conservation and improvement of green space and biodiversity in the capital, encouraging wide public education and participation.
• Appointing a green infrastructure commissioner to promote the protection and enhancement of nature in London, with a long-term strategy to ensure everyone lives within 1 kilometre of open green space.
• Amending the London Plan to ensure housing intensificationbecomes a key characteristic of spatial development throughout London.
• Developing a feasibility and delivery plan for pedestrianisation across the city, building on the existing Mini-Hollands scheme.
• Promoting London’s green and low-carbon economic sectors, and working towards increasing London’s recycling and reducing its waste.
• Ensuring that London’s environmental policies draw on the expertise and engagement of London’s communities and civic organisations.
• Working with other cities and local authorities to establish UK100, a convening organisation that would help UK cities to fulfil their environmental ambitions.”

In January 2016 the Prime Minister announced a new programme to support regeneration.

This latest research from the CIH seeks to address what the potential benefits of housing-led regeneration in the current context may be, the types of projects currently occurring, and the lessons that can be learned from them.

Regeneration revival summary

This briefing provides a summary of the main report.

Our friends at Brabners have produced this useful informatio on deregulation:

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http://www.brabners.com/articles/housing-&-regeneration/de-registration-hca-what-are-key-legal-issues

The Housing and Planning Bill amendment by the parliamentary under-secretary of state at the Department for Communities and Local Government (DCLG), would give the secretary of state the power to create regulations with the purpose of “limiting or removing” the ability of councils to “exert influence” over registered providers.

Inside Housing said:

“This includes giving registered providers the power to remove officers appointed by a local authority and removing local authorities’ ability to appoint or remove officers of registered providers. Councils often have powers to nominate housing associations’ board members as a result of stock transfer agreements. Local authorities could also lose their ability to exercise voting rights on the boards of registered providers.

The secretary of state could “limit” the number of officers that a local authority can appoint to a registered provider and could “prohibit” local authorities from appointing officers. The regulations could also prohibit local authorities from taking any action that would result in obtaining voting rights in a registered provider.”

Large landlords in London are planning to pilot a collaborative development scheme, in a bid to reduce costs and help overcome labour shortages.

According for Inside Housing:

“Several housing associations in the G15 group in the capital have started the early work on a pilot project, which will be used to establish if they could reduce their costs by collaborating on development for schemes.

For example, were they to agree a model for bathrooms, they could jointly procure them for several schemes and use the increased order book to drive a better deal from the supplier.

It is hoped that by working together rather than competing for labour, the associations could also avoid some of the issues raised by shortages of skilled staff.

A ‘proof of concept’ for the collaboration is currently being developed to identify the potential for cost savings, with the landlords hoping to work on a pilot this summer.”

Less than 1% of the housing association tenants offered the chance to purchase their home under a pilot of the Right to Buy have so far made a formal application to buy.

According to research by Inside Housing:

“Just 443 tenants have put in a formal application to buy their home under the flagship government housing policy since the pilots launched in January, out of more than 48,000 households in the pilot areas the scheme was marketed to. This is well below Sheffield Hallam University projections for demand, which suggested around 7% of tenants would have the means and the desire to buy under the scheme.

Eligibility criteria of 10 years’ residency in the pilots, and the exclusion of some types of home, saw some tenants who hoped to buy ruled out. But others – particularly in London and the South East – were unable to afford to go ahead with a purchase.

Clarissa Corbisiero-Peters, head of policy at the National Housing Federation (NHF), said: “A difference in the numbers who express an interest and who submit a full application is to be expected – residents may review their finances or realise that they do not meet the eligibility criteria of the pilot.”

Association Tenants marketed to Expressions of interest % expressing interest Applications % of tenants marketed to applying % of tenants who expressed interest applying Region

The National Infrastructure Commission (NIC) was set up last year to advise the government of its major infrastructure requirements over the next 30 years. It will publish its analysis once every five years.

Early details have  emerged about how housing will fit into the overall picture. The national infrastructure assessments will look at how to improve links between the delivery of major new infrastructure schemes – such as roads or railways – and new housing developments.

The NIC is also considering probing how policies affecting existing housing stock could affect wider government infrastructure investment decisions. One possibility raised is examining how investment in the insulation of homes could reduce spend on energy infrastructure.

The government’s £4.7bn 2016/21 Shared Ownership and Affordable Homes Programme includes £4.1bn to build 135,000 shared ownership homes in England.

Broken down, this means that bidders will receive an average grant rate per unit of £30,370 – nearly double the average of around £15,000 per unit in the 2011/15 Affordable Homes Programme.

In the foreword to the prospectus document published last week, Greg Clark, communities secretary, said he wanted to take shared ownership provision “to the next level”.

The prospectus says the government wants to encourage “greater involvement by the commercial housing sector” in the delivery of shared ownership. This is understood to include institutional investment and house builders.

The government is removing restrictions on the type of organisation that can hold an interest in shared ownership homes in the long-term and making it administratively easier to bid for grant for those that only want to hold the investment for a short time.

“The government last week published its prospectus inviting bids for funding under the 2016/21 Shared Ownership and Affordable Homes Programme outside London. It outlines “a decisive shift” in funding from affordable rent to delivering 135,000 shared ownership homes over five years. A total of £4.1bn out of the £4.7bn available in England is for shared ownership.

However, landlords operating in lower-value areas warned they were likely to be cautious about bidding as they fear buyers could shun shared ownership in favour of buying outright under Starter Homes andHelp to Buy.

It follows research by consultancy Savills last week which found “demand for the greatest volume of new [shared ownership] units is in markets where affordability is most stretched… largely in the south of England”.

The government expects to deliver 135,000 shared ownership homes and 10,000 Rent to Buy. Just 8,000 units of supported housing will be built for rent.

A Department for Communities and Local Government spokesperson said it was “disappointing” landlords are not backing shared ownership.”

Bank lending to housing associations could be limited by new proposed rules, a trade body has warned.

According to Inside Housing:

“The Intermediary Mortgage Lenders Association (IMLA) said today that housing associations could “bear the brunt” of reforms suggested by the Basel Committee on Banking Supervision.

These reforms change the rules on the amount capital banks must hold compared to the risks they bare.

Under the proposals, banks would be prevented from taking into account housing associations’ strong credit portfolio and regulated nature. This would mean they would be subject to much higher capital requirements, potentially making banks more reluctant to lend.

In a statement today, the IMLA said: “In particular, one of the most serious impacts could be on lending to UK housing associations.

“By preventing lenders from taking into account borrowers’ financial strength, the Basel proposals could see loans to many housing associations redefined and subject to much higher capital requirements, despite the exemplary payment track record and their government-regulated status.”

The IMLA represents lenders which secure deals through brokers. The Basel Committee proposals are subject to consultation.”