by Brelda Baum

The UK Government recently announced plans to build up to 50,000 new homes on 20 brownfield sites across London and plans to achieve this by creating 20 new housing zones in London (with a further 10 new housing zones outside the capital). The aim is to get new (affordable) homes built quickly. Local authorities will identify and package together brownfield land which could be used for development into a housing zone, remove all unnecessary planning restrictions across it and partner with a developer to build new homes. The absence of planning constraints in these zones should significantly accelerate construction and central government will also support housing zones by making loans available to local authorities for necessary infrastructure and other remedial work on the site. Continue reading →