Special Report-Havering Council Under Fire For Tower Block Building: But Who Sets The Housing Targets And Just Who Should Residents Blame?

Who Sets Housing Targets in Havering?

Havering Residents Association have come under repeated fire as they look to build many new flats across the borough, specifically across Romford. But, they have actually failed to meet housing targets as they fight an endless stream of over-developments for Havering in a bid to balance our housing needs with that to not over concrete the area.

Housing targets in Havering are primarily established by the Mayor of London through the London Plan, which sets strategic housing objectives for each borough. These targets are further influenced by the UK Government’s national planning policies.

So Who Sets the Targets?

• Mayor of London: The London Plan outlines housing targets for each borough. For Havering, the plan set a target of 1,285 new homes per year, totaling 12,850 homes between 2019/20 and 2028/29.
• UK Government: National policies, such as the Housing Delivery Test, assess whether local authorities meet their housing targets. If a borough like Havering falls short—achieving only 55% of its target between 2020 and 2023—it becomes subject to a “presumption in favour of sustainable development,” which can make it more challenging to refuse planning applications. ​

Local Response

Local groups, including the Havering Residents Association (HRA), have expressed concerns about centrally imposed targets. They argue that such mandates may not align with the borough’s specific needs and infrastructure capabilities, potentially leading to overdevelopment. ​

Cabinet Member For Regeneration Councillor Graham Williamson told the Havering Daily:

Housing Targets which are imposed on Havering and by the GLA in London’s case (elsewhere by the Government). This stands at encouraging/allowing the building of 1,285 per year. Both the GLA and Government believe that in order to build the number of properties to serve a growing national population it should be higher.

The new Government wants 1.5 million homes built within the next 3-4 years and Havering’s target would increase to 1,922 per year. This cannot be imposed until the GLA’s releases a new Local Plan that likely agrees the figure in around 2027.

There are a lot of problems however with trying to meet even the lower targets. Firstly, our Local Plan which we are presently refreshing, is back-dated to 2016. We should have had built, largely by private developers, up to the end of 2023, some 7,102 properties when in fact only 4,036 were built. Failure to meet such targets, regardless of what’s passed i.e. developers can often land bank awaiting ‘better times’, means any new developments is more likely to win on appeal and encourages the chasing numbers regardless of quality.

Furthermore, whatever is actually built, everyone agrees that there is usually insufficient infrastructure i.e., GP’s, highways, leisure, schools etc. to support new residents. We all know that our local hospital such as Queens is overloaded. But it isn’t just that residents believe that, but the Council does too. The monies levied against Developers called the Community Infrastructure Levy, CIL, is on average some 60% short of what is required as per a report in September 2016. We really have little leeway and unless we can conjure up monies elsewhere it can only get worse. I’d like the levy to be higher but we have to get Government approval but I’m afraid they are generally happy to let residents share existing services.”

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