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Livingstone woos Londoners with low-cost housing pledge
Ken Livingstone has maintained his pledge to ensure that half of all new housing in the capital is affordable.
In his 18-point housing manifesto launched this week, Mr Livingstone said he would deliver 50,000 new affordable homes over the next three years and half the number of homeless households in temporary accommodation by 2012.
Praising his own policies, the mayor said that under his guidance, new house builds in London had risen from 17,000 a year eight years ago when he was first elected to 33,000 last year.
He claimed that London had also achieved another record year for new affordable homes in 2007/8 with over 13,500 flats and houses being completed.
The London mayor attacked Tory challenger Boris Johnson's proposal to abolish the 50 per cent affordability policy, claiming it was the clearest indication that he represented a "backward-looking view of London".
He said: "Boris Johnson's plan to give up the 50% policy means more profits for developers but misery for thousands of young Londoners waiting for their first home to rent or buy."
Livingstone also committed to helping those on higher incomes who still cannot afford London house prices by promoting private sector and pension fund investment in new shared ownership schemes.
Unveiling his plans in Tower Hamlets, the mayor said he would increase the proportion of family-sized shared ownership homes to help young families stay in London and get on the property ladder.
Key points in his manifesto include:
work with Councils and the government to ensure shared ownership schemes are genuinely affordable through rent free shared ownership and allowing purchasers to acquire smaller shares.
work with pension funds and institutional investors to encourage them to invest in additional private rented housing.
deliver 50,000 new affordable homes over the next three years.
ensure a much larger proportion of new affordable homes for rent are family sized (three bedrooms or more) to cut overcrowding.
12:57pm Monday 31st March 2008
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