Croydon Westfield: 'Sadiq Khan must claw back affordable housing'

The project is a joint venture by developers Westfield and Hammerson

Croydon could miss out on 145 new affordable homes as part of recently approved plans to build a huge shopping centre in south London.

Under the new £1.4bn project, up to 967 new homes will be built - as it stands only 20% will be affordable.

It falls short of Sadiq Khan's pledge for 35% for developments on public land, though he accepts it is a "starting point."

A charity has urged him to "claw back" as much affordable housing as possible.

Mr Khan expects the amount of affordable housing in the Croydon project "to rise over time", something which Brian Robson, of the Joseph Rowntree Foundation, backs.

Mr Robson said: "I'm sure there are reasons as to why the deal was struck this way, but the mayor has been really strong in getting developers to stick to these affordable housing targets since coming into office."

Since his 2016 election win, the Mayor of London, has used "planning powers" to intervene in four separate developments across London and raise the amount of affordable homes in each of those schemes to his required 35%.

Sadiq Khan's announced his draft London Plan saying he wanted to see more affordable housing

Mr Khan and his team can assert influence on large proposals to make sure plans meet three "policy tests".

These include a project having a significant impact on more than one London borough, the London Plan and for "sound planning reasons for intervention".

In October, Mr Khan scrutinised plans to build 348 homes on the site of a Wandsworth Homebase store on Swandon Way as it emerged that only 23% of those homes would be cheaper.

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He said he used his "full range of planning powers" to bring the level of lower-priced housing to his required minimum of 35%.

Since becoming mayor, Mr Khan has intervened with three other developments - in Wealdstone, Tottenham Hale and Mill Hill - in order to raise the amount of affordable housing in.

Although the Westfield project was referred to the mayor, rather than "called in", Mr Robson has urged Mr Khan to take a similar approach with the Croydon development - which will see the existing Whitgift Centre, on private land, be demolished.

The proposed shopping centre will create thousands of new jobs

He said: "We are in a housing crisis at the moment.

"It is vitally important he continues to squeeze as much affordable housing out of the developer."

Speaking about public land, James Murray, deputy mayor for housing, said: "People in London rightly expect there to be a high level of affordable housing given the land is in public ownership.

"Yet it is sold off to the highest bidder for a one-off land receipt and the homes built are affordable to very few people."

City Hall said, in terms of the Westfield project, the mayor "accepted a starting point of 20% affordable housing to get this major regeneration scheme for Croydon under way as soon as possible".