Local Politics of New Homes - Westminster City Council

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hello I'm Toby Fox from 1.5 million new

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homes the local government challenge

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sponsored by Redloft and by Mount Anvil

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and by Pitmanto Architects every month

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I'm visiting a different council to ask

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them what works and what needs to change

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to get more homes built this month I'm

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in

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Westminster so the leader of Westminster

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City Council Councelor Adam Hug has been

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kind enough to spare some time for 1.5

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million new homes the local government

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challenge uh Adam tell us about where we

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are today and how you feel about being

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part of 1.5 million new homes delighted

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to be here in my ward of Westborne in

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the heart of Northwest Minster um where

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we have been building new homes like 300

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Harrow Road which is a great new

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mixeduse development combining uh 100%

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affordable homes with a new nursery uh

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community workspace and a cafe that'll

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be opening later this summer so how many

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homes in total we've got 113 new homes

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here 77 of which council for homes for

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social rent uh other homes for key

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workers we've got a community workspace

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cafe and nursery in the scheme so

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there's clear benefits for the local

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community from this redevelopment um

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this was a scheme that was started under

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the previous administration but one of

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the things the design team did even at

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that stage was talk to the local

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community about what they wanted from

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the site when we came in as an

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administration we looked at the site

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again looked at how we could actually

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improve the local benefit so we've now

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got a not for-p profofit nursery in

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there rather than a a fully private one

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and we've got a um significant number of

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more um affordable homes in here going

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from 50 to 100% so that's you clearly

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got local buy in and helped assuage some

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of the challenges we've had uh with the

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neighbors in the immediate vicinity

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because obviously we need new homes

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desperately in constrained sites like in

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in the middle of cities like Westminster

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there can be challenges around the

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amount of piling involved uh disrupting

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people's lives in the blocks immediately

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behind but we got to take people on that

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journey because we've got enormous uh

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challenges in terms of overcrowding

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people in temporary accommodation um and

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we want new homes to help change

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people's life chances you know really

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give them those opportunities to thrive

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here in our communities and that's why

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the council's got to play its part in

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building i hear what you're saying about

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the need but going from 50% to 100%

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affordable that's a big financial

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decision that's a big investment by the

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council how do you politically frame

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spending that much money on new homes so

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we were able to make that work because

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of the schemes that we had in play at

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the at this particular time we recognize

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that we're not going to be able to hit

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100% affordable on all of our schemes

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but the key point is making sure that

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whatever we do that challenge of of the

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housing need is front and center of what

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we're trying to do and that we can

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explain that's why we're doing it for

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people even if if it's mixed development

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with with private and uh and affordable

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in the same scheme and that affordable

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genuinely means affordable for people

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like them uh tackling the housing

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waiting list as well as providing new

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homes for key workers and I think it's

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taking people on that journey is so

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important so so the fundamental argument

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is we if we're going to spend money on

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anything we should be spending it on

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providing more affordable and more

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social homes for the people who need

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them in terms of council and government

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expenditure that's absolutely key but we

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recognize across the country we need uh

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more homes of all types in 10 years to

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change the housing market we want a

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functioning private rented system that

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doesn't have spiraling rents each time

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which is why you do need more supply in

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in in that part of the market looking at

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build to rent schemes and other things

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that can help tackle that councils

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obviously the priority is tackling

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extreme housing need which is why we're

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focused on increasing the amount of uh

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social and and truly affordable homes

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after decades of uh of underinvestment

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um but there's a part to play by all

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parts of the market um but it's got to

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be clear that it's in the public

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interest and that those homes are going

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to be used uh for permanent residential

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use which is a big challenge we have in

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Westminster and and I don't mean to to

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bang on and on about the money but but

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it is so fundamental nationally as as

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well as locally here in Westminster

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we're talking about an investment in

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this single scheme of something like 60

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million pounds absolutely but it is an

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investment in the future of this

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community uh the money saved uh is not

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only in improving life chances of the

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people who live there but the amount of

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money the council will be spending on

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temporary accommodation and all sorts of

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other things that cost us year on year

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uh and this is a investment in the

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future of this city uh so we're

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delighted to be able to have made it but

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we recognize that you know councils are

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facing real challenges uh in terms of

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their finances which is why there needs

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to be you know effective partnership

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between local government and national

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government to help unblock a lot of

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sites that are uh stalled around the

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country that councils want to build who

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want to be given the investment to build

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and that's why we're looking forward to

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the spending review uh with clarity on

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future grant rates so Adam you talked

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about how close these buildings are to

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each other during construction that's a

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real problem for residents and all they

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see is noise and disruption and so on so

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how do you bring people on this journey

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of change with you how do you convince

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them that it's worth their while so it's

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not without its challenges i think what

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helps is talking to people as early as

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possible up front trying to work through

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with them how they know how their space

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is used and how a construction

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management plan can be uh as respectful

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of that as possible uh it's having a

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good relationship between both the

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council and the on-site developers

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during the build phase so that when

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residents see there's a problem they can

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raise that and get their concerns

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addressed as quickly as possible and

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it's about being respectful about site

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management times when they say you know

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you have particular hours that you're

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going to be on site you're not starting

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sort of you know going all through the

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middle of the night without being giving

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them any advanced warning so it's being

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respect for people while you're doing it

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but also taking people on that journey

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so they understand why you're doing this

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that it's ultimately for the community

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and for pe them and people like them uh

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rather than for other people that sort

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of being implanted into their

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communities which is sometimes the fear

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of of of developments like this and I'm

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right in thinking that the people who

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were in the original blocks were given

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that that were had to face the

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disruption were given sort of first dibs

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absolutely so the local letings plan is

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absolutely key to um uh schemes like

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this the reality is that uh the vast

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majority of these uh flats were taken by

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people who are living in just a couple

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of blocks who are immediately around

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here who've been on the housing waiting

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list uh for many many years whether

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overcrowding or or in temporary

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accommodation flats there so there's

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been some real challenges that this has

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helped unlock obviously there's more

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demand we were not able to help everyone

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uh and that can create some tensions so

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if you've been want you're seeing this

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thing happen and you're just the other

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side of the line but people know that

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that it is people in their community who

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are benefiting it from it rather than it

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being sort of a pure implant that's

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that's it's trying to make sure that

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these schemes meet community needs which

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is why having community benefit on the

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ground floor uh residence hall nursery

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managed workspace and a new cafe are all

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things that are going to help improve

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people's lives in the community and and

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and taking people on that journey so

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they understand what's coming and being

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able to show people where it's worked

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really well uh yeah we we'll take we'll

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take people from elsewhere in the city

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to come and see this scheme just as we

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we're doing the same down at Ebbridge in

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the south um to show this is what it

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could look like we know it's going to be

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tough for a couple of years but work

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with you work with us and uh and and

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hopefully you'll see the long-term

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benefits and it's not it's not that easy

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to get new homes built in this part of

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London is it because there are lots of

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competing land pressures requirements

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for the land so how are you how are you

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dealing with that challenge well so

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that's why making the most of council

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and other publicly owned land in a place

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like Westminster is so crucial because

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we have you know real pressures on land

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where particularly in the center of town

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the there is demand to build but it's

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demand to build offices uh and uh that

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means that the amount of space that's

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available to tackle the housing

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challenge is constrained whilst that

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commercial demand is still uh red-hot

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for uh new office developments um which

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is why we're working with uh not only

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Council Land but with other public

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sector partners like TfL and Network

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Rail to look at what opportunities there

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are to unlock sites in Westminster that

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could really you know meet the public

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benefit um but it's also we're looking

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again at what our planning system can do

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to nudge uh the the market to make sure

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that housing is part of the mix when

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they're looking at uh new sites through

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mixed use which is obviously where we

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want to uh encourage uh new developers

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uh of commercial sites to be looking at

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so that there is a mix of housing and uh

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uh and business use and and what sort of

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reception are you getting to that

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argument from the development industry

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well we're getting you know engagement

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you know obviously people have their own

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plans for their own sites and and and

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obviously they're looking at their

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pipelines and their pressures and I

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think obviously we want to try and give

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as much clarity as possible in the

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planning system through uh the evolution

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of our city plan uh that can help you

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know give give uh business the stability

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that they that they need in order to

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plan for the future um but it's also you

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know making sure they understand our

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ambitions as well as we understand their

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ambitions that's that's crucial when

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when you took charges and

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administrations this is the first Labor

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administration in Westminster um you had

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to hit the ground running so you've got

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to deliver at pace and of course the

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government nationally is trying to do

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the same thing trying to deliver 1.5

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million new homes during this

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administration what lessons have you

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learned about pace of delivery that are

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useful nationally do you think so we're

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looking at how we could maximize the

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opportunities on the sites that we had

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so when we came in we looked at what was

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potentially in the pipeline what was you

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know on the drawing board but hadn't

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been fleshed out looked at what we could

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deliver at pace and we've been able to

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add uh extra 330 new uh affordable homes

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into our pipeline as a result of that

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that exercise but it's it is about

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maximizing you know deliverable

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opportunities so we we looked at what

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what the pathway was for the most

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pragmatically deliverable schemes and

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got on with those and there are some

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challenges obviously we look as we look

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ahead to the new um funding settlement

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we'll see if grant new grant rates

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enable other sites to be unlocked but in

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a place like Westminster it's obviously

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you know high cost uh high reward uh

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investments uh that could that can

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unlock housing sites like this um which

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is a different challenge to other parts

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of London or or other parts of the

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country um but we've got a horses for

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courses approach but you've got to you

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know work with local authorities so that

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we have a shared ambition to get the

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homes of all types and tenurs uh that we

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need but it's about taking communities

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with us and engaging as early as

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possible to work out some of the kinks

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and even if people are still worried or

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concerned about a scheme they know that

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they've been heard uh and that their

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concerns will be taken on board as much

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as possible while still meeting those

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strategic objectives both for a local

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authority and for the government and and

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how how what sort of reception do you

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think you're getting from local

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residents across Westminster for your

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housing delivery how important is it

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politically to this administration to be

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delivering those homes and and how much

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capital are you are you getting

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political capital are you getting from

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it so our residents expect us to be

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doing this uh obviously we have to

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explain to them some of the practical

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challenges about oh we can't just magic

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uh you know a new pipeline of homes uh

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overnight particularly given the the

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market conditions but yeah we're working

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on a new scheme just down the road at uh

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291 Harrow Road uh where we'll be

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bringing forward yeah more casle homes

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uh new adult social care facilities and

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more community space as well and we

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working with those residents yeah

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they're not all on board with some of

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the heightened massing of the scheme but

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they recognize what we're trying to do

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as a local authority and because we got

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in there early and had those uh

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constructive engagements they understand

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what we're trying to do um and obviously

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we'll be moving forward with that in the

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weeks and months ahead so yeah it's

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early engagement and understanding the

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strategic objectives we're doing um and

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most people are on board with that even

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if they may have gripes around the edges

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and and so you talked about a new scheme

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coming forward how ambitious are you

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what what can we expect to see in the

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next during the rest of your Well so

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obviously we will be making some

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announcements uh later this summer about

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the next phase of our our plans but

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we've got schemes that are that are

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already uh moving forward across the

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city we've got the 291 Harrow Road we've

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got uh Church Street site A where we're

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maximizing the opportunities of things

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have been long in the gestation but have

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taken uh time to actually get them to be

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delivered and we've been pushing forward

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to make sure that long talked about

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plans are actually delivered uh uh

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before we move to the next phase of of

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of some exciting but challenging

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opportunities that we'll be we deal with

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uh over the coming months councelor Adam

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Hug leader of Westminster City Council

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thank you very much for your

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contribution to 1.5 million new homes

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thank you very much and that just about

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wraps it up for another episode of 1.5

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million new homes the local government

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challenge sponsored by Redloft by Mount

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Anvil and by Pitmanto Architects we're

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going to be back in a few days with more

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from Westminster but until then if you

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could hit like or and subscribe we'd be

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really grateful and we look forward to

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seeing you next time thank you for

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watching