In the Draft New London Plan, Sadiq Kahn has set a target of 64,935 new dwellings per year, with 24,573 of these to be delivered on small sites. But how realistic is this?
Our recent experience of small sites across the capital suggests that building on such sites at such a scale may not be realistic, unless the difficulties of developing on them is fully recognised and subsidised by additional funding.
This type of development presents its own set of challenges. These can include the cost of diverting or building over underground services; proximity to railway lines; or overlooking from adjoining buildings. On garage sites, for instance, leasehold ownership or the emotive issue of loss of storage or parking can stymie development. Small sites don’t lend themselves to modular or volumetric solutions, which usually depend on economies of scale or access difficulties. They also attract a disproportionate amount of interest from adjoining owners (which are often residential) as any development will have an immediate and measurable impact.
Nevertheless, the Mayor is correct to identify this potential area of housing uplift, but perhaps for a different reason. Lifting the cap on council spending announced by the government will allow cash-strapped councils across London to start developing their own council homes again, many for the first time in a few decades. Those individuals who delivered council housing before have either retired or are about to do so. In the intervening years many local authorities have been stripped of their star operators through austerity, political in-fighting or simply the lure of the private sector. Small sites are a good place to start for local authorities to build up home-grown expertise in the delivery of the expected new wave of council housing.
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Certain London local authorities have already made headway in delivering their own small sites. We have designed three schemes for London Borough of Harrow consisting of four, two and two dwellings respectively. Two of the projects are affordable rent and the other is private sale to cross-subsidise the other two. Tower Hamlets is also moving apace with a collection of small sites across the borough, developing on their own land. One such scheme is Hanbury Street, currently the site of a block of disused garages, which features a new terrace of seven bespoke mews dwellings and has transformed the immediate environment.
Another objective of the Mayor in his Draft London Plan is the focus on SMEs to boost housing delivery. Currently, most London councils are not able to award contracts to such organisations unless they are on a framework or can demonstrate a thorough track record in experience and sound finances during a tender selection process. Many small contractors and developers disappeared during the financial crisis of 2008 and few have filled the void since. Local authorities are therefore forced to turn to medium to large contractors to select a credible tender list. The price inevitably increases with the size of the contracting organisation, but in truth, development of these small sites is not cost-effective for larger contractors.
Small sites will help boost the Mayor’s target numbers for housing delivery, and London’s built fabric will benefit as a result, but the costs of developing these sites need to be understood in advance and will require an innovative architectural approach to unlock their true potential.
Brendan Kilpatrick, Senior Partner at PRP
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