Deverell Smith held a meeting to discuss the future of London’s residential development with the Greater London Authority, Transport for London and the heads of the leading property developers. QUESTIONS – Heads of the leading London developers asked the following questions: Within the Housing Zones should Affordable be delivered through PRS? (VIDEO TIME 20.18) Can we expect any changes to the “affordable split”? (VIDEO TIME 21.52) Is the policy on river wharfs going to be loosened? (VIDEO TIME 26.56) How does TfL approach the unusual technical challenges some of their schemes present? (VIDEO TIME 28.01) Can we get ahead of the curve and invest in infrastructure before housing is built? (VIDEO TIME 31.11) Should there be a quota on the number of overseas investors? (VIDEO TIME 33.24) How can we ensure that housing initiatives survive economic downturn? (VIDEO TIME 36.43) What are your thoughts on placemaking? (VIDEO TIME 41.22) How can the GLA help with the imbalance between sales value and build costs? (VIDEO TIME 45.49) Employment vs The Development Pipeline As the London development pipeline continues to bolster and TfL plan to develop over 10,000 sq. ft. through Property Partnerships, Deverell Smith advises that the employment market has yet to recover from the residual effects of the economic downturn. The property recruitment consultancy reported the number of jobs in the development and new homes sector has risen by over 131% since 2008 to the end of April 2015 and yet there is still a shortage of experienced and skilled workforce, particularly in the “white collar” market of skilled project managers, developers and surveyors. Carly Wardley, Head of Residential Development at Deverell Smith comments, “London is facing very ambitious delivery programmes, which rely heavily on a skilled workforce. We are still seeing a widening gap between supply and demand caused by a black-hole of the then 24 to 30 years old who left the industry during the downturn. This talent shortage could impact on delivery as competition for talent increases, resulting in wage inflation and invariably attrition as the lure of higher salaries impacts on retention.” GRAEME CRAIG Commercial Development Director TfL As the person responsible for commercialising TfL’s assets, Graeme is working across one of the largest and most valuable portfolios in the capital. TfL owns 5,700 acres of land and operates from 435 stations, including Tube stations, bus stations, London Overground stations, DLR stations and piers. TfL also has, amongst other things, 1,000 retail units, 61 car parks and 20% of the UK’s Out of Home advertising market. Graeme recently signed the largest public sector sponsorship contract in the world, for Santander Cycles. He has also launched Property Partnerships, which will see a small number of developers working with TFL on 50+ sites with a development potential of over 10 million sq. ft. Graeme joined TFL in 2004 from Capita, initially to run the Congestion Charging operation. DAVID LUNTS Executive Director of Housing and Land The GLA Group David Lunts is the Executive Director for Housing and Land at the GLA where he leads the Mayor’s new housing, land and development functions. He was previously the Executive Director for London at the Homes and Communities Agency and before that was the GLA Executive Director with responsibility for planning, regeneration, housing and environmental policy. His earlier career included a leading role in housing and regeneration in Manchester during the 1980s and early 90s and a three year spell as director of Urban Policy for John Prescott at the Office of the Deputy Prime Minister.

• published: 19 May 2015
• views: 8