Last month Southwark Land Commission (SLC) gave some interesting proposals to the local council. We want to have a look at them here to see how they could help to develop sites in the borough. Then if you need guaranteed rent in Southwark, you can speak to us.

Proposals

The council asked SLC to look into how land is used in the area. Ultimately their goal is to address issues such as a shortage of affordable housing and office space.

However, they have some massive challenges to deal with. This includes rising land prices making it more costly to develop areas. At the same time, Southwark has one of the highest rates of population density in the city. As a result, it is very tricky for supply to increase in response to demand.

The SLC has been looking at ways to address the situation. They have come up with a unique idea to promote developments. What they would like the council to do is give land to residents to develop. They could do this by forming housing or worker co-operatives or community land trusts. It would lead to the creation of more affordable housing and offices. There could also be some properties for private sale, making them interesting options for investors and things like guaranteed rent in Southwark.

Trial sites

Southwark Council is one of the biggest land owners in the borough. According to SLC, the local authority owns 36% of the land. Several other public organisations have significant holdings too. This includes TfL, the Met Police, and the NHS. As a result, it could be more viable for them to free up plots and hand them to locals to develop.

SLC has actually specified five sites that could be great for trials. They include Crystal Palace, two in Peckham, Bermondsey, and a final one in South Bermondsey. Some of them have excellent potential for redevelopment to create homes, commercial space, or community assets.

More details

The SLC report for the council is an impressive 68 pages. As well as the ideas for empowering locals for redevelopment projects, it gives many other recommendations.

One of them is that developments on public or community land should prioritise locals. The key thing here is half of any homes on these sites should be affordable. A priority should be to maximise the number of properties for social rent. These are the lowest rates, ensuring they will be accessible to more local people.

Another recommendation focuses on workspace. There is a big need for affordable spaces for local businesses, especially start ups. The council typically asks developers to create space as part of projects, but it can be expensive to rent. The SLC proposes it would be better to ask for money from them as part of the planning process. This could then be used for other projects where the council can control the rent rates.

Would you like to try guaranteed rent in Southwark?

Investors have plenty to think about in regards to their assets. With our help they have far fewer worries because our services can take care of tenancies, rent, management, and more. They get a single payment every month, regardless of how many properties they own. This is the case even if tenants don’t or can’t pay, or if the homes are vacant.

So, if you want to find out more about guaranteed rent in Southwark, you can speak to us. We offer fantastic support and setting up is very easy.