The last time London built enough houses was almost 100 years ago, when planning applications were just three pages long and took just weeks to approve, finds Sam Dumitriu

Labour were elected on a pledge to build 1.5m homes. And Mayor Sadiq Khan has clear instructions from the Deputy PM: “build more homes!”

In fact, London must now build at least 88,000 homes each year. But at the moment, the capital isn’t even hitting its current 52,000 home target.

Right now, the Mayor is busy rewriting the London Plan. It will need to be a major rewrite. Data from real estate experts Molior suggests London is going backwards. In the first quarter of 2025, construction started on just 1,250 homes.

The last time London got close to building 88,000 homes was almost 100 years ago in the 1930s. Back then a cocktail of low interest rates, abolition of rent control and simple planning rules brought housebuilding to record levels.

How simple are we talking? To find out Britain Remade visited Waltham Forest’s planning archive. After weeks of back and forth over email, researcher Ben Hopkinson was finally granted permission to rummage through a dozen boxes of planning applications........

© City A.M.