Shaun Bailey vows to strip TfL of housing powers
Tory mayoral candidate Shaun Bailey has said Transport for London (TfL) should be stripped of its housing function to boost the number of new builds in the capital.
Bailey, a former youth worker and adviser to ex-Prime Minister David Cameron, has pledged to set up a body called Housing for London which would be controlled by City Hall.
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In an interview with City PM, he said TfL should have its housing function removed because they are “not good at it”.
“The primary objective is to get more housing on TfL land, but secondly, to generate better funds. You need a specialist property division to make that work properly. TfL’s poor performance has shown us that.”
In May 2016, TfL set a target to build 10,000 homes by 2020. However, as of May this year, only 322 homes have been built on TfL land since Khan took office.
The target was later revised to 10,000 homes by 2021.
Bailey believes TfL lacks the property expertise needed to address the acute housing shortage in London.
He would increase the number of mayoral development corporations – statutory bodies that can push on with regeneration projects – from two to 20.
The current two corporations are the London legacy development corporation set up after the 2012 Olympic Games and the Old Oak and Park Royal Development Corporation which was established in 2015 to deliver homes in the north London area.
TfL land is ultimately controlled by Khan but day-to-day management is limited. Bailey believes this makes it difficult for TfL to nail housing targets and also makes it easier for the mayor to escape accountability.
Bailey has also pledged to conduct a “root and branch” review into TfL as an organisation, including how many consultants it uses and how much they are paid.
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TfL is currently engaged in its own cost-cutting programme as it battles a £500m deficit. It has already cut back office costs by 30 per cent.
A spokesperson for Khan said: “Under Sadiq, London is building more council homes than it has in over than three decades. He is getting a record number of affordable homes built whilst protecting the green belt.
“TfL continues to work at pace towards the ambitious target of starting on sites with capacity for 10,000 homes by March 2021.”