Lib Dems Reject Ken's Housing Diktat

5.51.00pm GMT Thu 5th Oct 2006

At Council this week local Lib Dems voted to reject Ken Livingstone's Diktat on the numbers of units of housing to be built in Islington in the next ten years.

Ken Livingstone had demanded that Islington build 1,160 housing units a year for the next 10 years. Despite Islington being the second smallest and second most densely populated borough in London this is 7th highest target for number of homes to be built in London.

Lib Dems who have been campaigning against the target officially rejected it last night by putting a lower figure in the local development framework.

The target of 1160 homes is twice that of larger neighbouring borough Camden.

Cllr Terry Stacy Executive member for Housing and Communities said: -

"We are small, we are densely populated. This target makes no concessions to that. It's a centralised target and it makes you wonder if the people who wrote it have even been here.

"We do need more housing, and lots of people want to live here. But over development would threaten the unique nature of Islington. We've kept our target high because we want to provide more affordable housing, but we don't want to build slums and we can't accept Ken's over ambitious figure.

"This is typical Ken Livingstone arrogance - believing he knows best and ignoring the people who live here."

The Facts

These are the targets for all London boroughs

Borough Housing Target

Newham 3510

Tower Hamlets 3150

Barnet 2055

Greenwich 2010

Southwark 1630

Barking and Dagenham 1190

Islington 1160

Bromley 1120

Lambeth 1100

Hackney 1085

Redbridge 1055

Lewisham 975

Ealing 915

Wandsworth 745

Haringey 680

City of Westminster 680

Waltham Forest 665

Croydon 595

Havering 535

Camden 485

Hammersmith and Fulham 450

Hounslow 445

Harrow 400

Enfield 395

Kingston upon Thames 385

Merton 370

Hillingdon 365

Kensington & Chelsea 350

Bexley 345

Sutton 345

Richmond Upon Thames 270

Corporation of London 90