Kensington and Chelsea Council has accused the new Labour Government of “letting algorithms set their agenda rather than reality” after ministers proposed tripling the area’s housing target.
The Tory-run authority has been told to increase its annual target for new properties by 209 per cent, even as London’s overall figure has been reduced by 18 per cent.
Deputy PM Angela Rayner announced last week that the Government would adopt a new formula to “to get Britain building again”, which would alter each council’s housing target and make them mandatory, not advisory.
Despite the target increasing in every other English region, London’s was reduced from 99,000 homes per year to 81,000 - though this is still more than double the number currently being built in the capital.
Twenty-four of London’s 32 boroughs have been set lower targets, which town halls are being consulted on.
Kensington is proposed to build 4,271 new homes per year, up from a previous target of 1,381. Only 275 new properties, in net terms, were created in the borough in 2022/23.
Councillor Cem Kemahli, Kensington’s lead member for planning, said the Government has “inexplicably” left “the smallest London borough with the highest target in the capital”.
He said: “It appears the Labour Government is letting algorithms set their agenda rather than reality. Labour must think again and we will be responding to that effect in the consultation.”
Kensington’s increased target is due to the new formula emphasising the ratio between the median price of existing properties and median earnings among the borough’s workforce. Kensington has the country’s widest such ratio, with a typical property costing 34 times what somebody working in the borough would earn per year.
Mr Kemahli acknowledged that “London needs more homes” but said Kensington “is playing its part”.
It is also understood that borough-level targets will ultimately be set by mayor Sadiq Khan, so long as London meets its overall target.
Joe Powell, Labour MP for Kensington and Bayswater, welcomed the Government’s announcements, saying he looks forward “to working with ministers and local authority leaders to deliver a more ambitious but achievable housebuilding target for our community”.
A spokesman at the Ministry for Housing, Communities and Local Government said: “All areas of the country must play their part in building the homes we need. The new method for calculating housing targets better responds to affordability pressures to ensure more homes are built in the least affordable areas.
“We will work with the mayor and boroughs so we can increase housing delivery and affordable housing provision in London.”
