Lewisham Council, in southeast London, is developing plans to transfer public land to community groups to facilitate the construction of new social housing. Papers presented at Wednesday's council cabinet meeting indicate the new housing strategy involves giving packages of public land, each valued at up to £2m, to community-led organisations like housing co-operatives, on the condition that they build social housing.
The Green-controlled council is also considering placing any land given away through this programme into community land trusts, which are legal instruments designed to lock in permanent affordability. Additionally, the council may offer low-interest loans to help developments commence and pre-approve planning permission to expedite construction. These proposals are hoped to take effect within a year.
Daniel Dream, Lewisham's cabinet member for inclusive regeneration, planning and housing delivery, stated that the current system of councils negotiating with private developers is insufficient to meet social housing needs. He hopes to use public land to empower community-led organisations to build essential housing.
A 1972 law obliges public bodies to accept the highest price for land sales, but a loophole allows councils to sell sites worth £2m or less to any party, at any price, or even give them away for free, provided there are positive benefits for the area. This strategy could be particularly useful for developing small sites, which are often overlooked by major developers. Research suggests there is enough land on small sites in London to build 850,000 new homes, with Lewisham alone having potential for up to 9,700 new homes across more than 3,000 small sites.