Khan planning new homes drive

London Mayor Sadiq Khan is kicking off a housebuilding drive in a controversial bid to prop up Transport for London's budget. The London Mayor is plotting up to 46,350 new homes on land owned by the capital's transport authority. A commitment to press ahead with the plans is understood to have been crucial to a £1.1bn bailout from the Government to keep TfL afloat until December. It took the total central government grants during the pandemic to more than £5bn. Mr Khan, TfL's chairman, is now in talks with ministers over a £2.1bn taxpayer grant to finance the housebuilding project. It has been speculated that the project is a way for Boris Johnson to impose more new homes on the capital while Mr Khan faces any criticism. Robert Jenrick, the Housing Secretary, wants to force local authorities to commit to new housing targets under a new Planning Bill following the Government's commitment to build 300,000 new homes a year. Mr Jenrick is facing opposition from a group of up to 100 Tory MPs, however. The proposed planning reforms were blamed for the Tories' shock defeat by the Liberal Democrats in the Chesham and Amersham by-election last month.

The Sunday Telegraph