What is the nature of Lambeth's housing shortage?

According to a consultation excercise advertised in one of Lambeth's communications, and according to a person in the planning department I spoke to, Lambeth has a housing shortage.

As a response to this, they are allowing the majority of applications for change of use from houses to flats.

In our road (mainly medium sized 3 bed semis or terraces) house after house is being bought up by developers, having extensions and loft conversions and converted into 2 or sometimes even 3 flats. Then they sell them to single people or young couples who have come from somewhere outside Lambeth. Meanwhile longstanding Brixton families with 3 kids who have outgrown a 2 bed flat cannot compete with the developers and have to move to somewhere outside Lambeth (Selhurst and Nunhead are the examples I know of personally) .

I could completely understand a need to address shortage of council or HA housing, as much as possible and as soon as possible, but in one of the most residential boroughs in the whole country, how can they need to increase provision for new residents in small privately-owned flats?

It's causing exactly the same 'grow and go' phenomenum in families and housing as exists in businesses in Lambeth - as soon as they need to expand, they are forced out in order to find the capacity they need. Lambeth needs more businesses and employers - not incoming new residents!

Is it a new ploy to reduce numbers of children needing school places?!

Well, it's not really a ploy, it's economics. Flats bring in people who are less likely to require benefits or council spending and bring in a greater yield of council tax.

No, it's a reflection of the main demographic moving into Lambeth, SINKYs and DINKYs; indeed, this is the single largest growing demographic group in London at present...

But as Opal Fruit implies this becomes a self justifying argument.If the majority of houses are allowed to be converted into flats then if people have families they have to move out of the area.

Seems to me if OF is correct then the planning process is being driven by the needs of developers and there profits.

OpalFruit said:

Meanwhile longstanding Brixton families with 3 kids who have outgrown a 2 bed flat cannot compete with the developers and have to move to somewhere outside Lambeth (Selhurst and Nunhead are the examples I know of personally) .

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maybe they should take it up with the long standing Brixton families who sold all the houses in the first place and shipped out to Thornton Heath etc?

the developers aren't magicking these houses out of thin air, someone is selling them to them.

why should those sellers have been penalised?

Local authority planning policies fit into the overall government housing strategy (look on the department for Communities and Local Government website for the various documents) and the Mayor of London's overall housing strategy both of which are to increase the number of dwellings over the next 10 or so years in England and particularly in areas of high demand such as London by building new housing but also by increasing the density of housing (number of people per square metre) and this is mainly achieved by increasing the number of people living on the existing built on land or in existing properties by basically converting houses into several flats as you mention.

This forms the background to developers who want to make as much money as possible. So a builder will buy a five bedroom house for say £450,000 put in a planning application to convert it into three two bedroom flats (usually adding another floor or extension as well) and then he can sell these flats for £250,000 each making him a nice profit. The developer knows that it is more than likely his development will go ahead because even if Lambeth Council were so minded to keep it a whole house the developer would likely win on appeal because he could point to how he was increasing the number of housing units to satisfy demand in London. If you're cynical you could also say that there is also an advantage for Lambeth in converting the house to flats as there will be almost three times the council tax and the new inhabitants of the flats are likely to be young couples/singles who are unlikely to need council services such as schools or social services.

I think there is also a general assumption in Lambeth and across London that people will go and work in the centre and that boroughs such as Lambeth are increasingly dormitories for central London - outside of the main town centres of Brixton, Clapham, Streatham, Norwood, Herne Hill etc there is little effort made to retain local shops - near to where I live for example on Denmark Road, SE5 shops are gradually one by one being converted into residential accommodation because the owners/developers can make so much more money from creating two or three flats than from letting out or selling the shop premises. Lambeth could (and I think should) make more effort to encourage local businesses by refusing the change of use planning permission that is required (but again probably doesnt because developers are very persistent and will appeal if they are turned down knowing that their appeal is likely to be successful because it fits in with the overall strategy of increasing housing.)

Dan U said:

maybe they should take it up with the long standing Brixton families who sold all the houses in the first place and shipped out to Thornton Heath etc?

the developers aren't magicking these houses out of thin air, someone is selling them to them.

why should those sellers have been penalised?

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Two I know of departed through the Pearly Gates - not to Thornton Heath (which is surely another gate entirely).

Sellers will always sell to the highest bidder - Planning Law is there to create the UDP and densities etc - Lambeth have chosen (it seems) to agree as many changes of use to flats as apossible. Developers wouldn't be interested unless that was possible.

Se5 - thank you for that explanation.

It seems a cynical way tomeet gvt / mayoral demand - and still leaves less[ provision for families wanting / needing bigger properties.

And as Gramsci says, plays right into the developers agenda.

It still seems to be going on, even in the current economic climate.

But as Opal Fruit implies this becomes a self justifying argument.If the majority of houses are allowed to be converted into flats then if people have families they have to move out of the area.

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The houses are converted because you have developers dangling big fat pound signs into the faces of long standing residents giving them offers they can't refuse.

I'm not surprised families have to move out of the area either when 3 bed terraces fetch anything between 4-500K in Brixton, it's ridiculous TBH...and out of reach of "normal" working families.

se5 said:

Lambeth could (and I think should) make more effort to encourage local businesses by refusing the change of use planning permission that is required (but again probably doesnt because developers are very persistent and will appeal if they are turned down knowing that their appeal is likely to be successful because it fits in with the overall strategy of increasing housing.)

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Thanks for the info SE5.

I dont think everyone realises if developers (and those seeking to turn shops into bars (A3) appeal) it can go out of the local Councils hands.However the local Council stills gets blamed.The appeals process IMO takes it out of local communities control.