Outgoing housing secretary Michael Gove has thrown his weight behind him City AM’s The ‘Build Baby Build’ campaign ahead of the July 4 general election.
The senior Tory, who is standing in his constituency of Surrey Heath, spoke out City AM on a visit to west London housing development, Kew Bridge Rise, in Brentford, on Thursday.
Asked if he would back the newspaper’s newly launched campaign, which calls for planning reform to prevent vested interests and noisy minorities from blocking projects vital to London’s growth and prosperity, Gove said: “100 per cent.”
And he threw out a challenge to London mayor Sadiq Khan, adding: “The key question will be whether the mayor of London also supports the campaign.”
Gove also stressed that there were several key issues holding back development in London.
He said: “I think the London plan is undoubtedly one of the biggest, which he (Khan) is responsible for.
“I also think the fact that he set the threshold for affordable housing so high… he obviously recognizes, as do I, the importance of increasing affordable housing.
“But if you raise the threshold too high, development, as you know, is no longer profitable. It just doesn’t go any further – instead of getting half of 200 homes, you get half of exactly zero.”
And the former Member of Parliament continued: “More than that, I think there is a need to deal with some of the older EU regulation that stands in the way of development.
“And that’s not to weaken environmental protection, it’s to make sure that we don’t have a combination of the Habitats Directive, species licenses and other rules, all reinforcing each other in a way that means a huge amount is being spent on red tape rather than the money that spent on new buildings and or nature.”
The project is being developed by The Hill and L&Q, with some of the homes being marketed as affordable.
But none of the flats for sale fall under the £425,000 stamp duty levy which the Tories say they would make permanent for first-time buyers.
The Mayor of London has been contacted for comment.
