The £1.2bn luxury development in central London with no social housing 

UK’s richest people avoid social housing rules in £1.2bn London flats project ► www.theguardian.com/news/2022/oct/02/luxury-flats-richest-people-social-housing-hinduja-old-war-office

Imagine if we did that on our taxes. "I'm sorry but my viability consultant has told me that given the circumstances 25% would already be generous enough this year"

It's ridiculous to force luxury developments to include 30% affordable housing. Just charge a levy which the council must use to actually build affordable housing. The problem is that the developers don't pay an appropriate amount and the council don't actually use the money to build any new flats.

I'm sorry, but why would you have social housing in a building such as that? That's a luxury building, not council housing.

Same in the compound where I’m living. It’s a 5 star hotel style compound and no affordable flats around at all. My and all other’s landlords aren’t even in England, they’re in Hong Kong and most people living here(including me) are not from London. I don’t see the problem with having affordable housing near me, why should I?? It’s ridiculous! I’m from Germany where living standards are a much different thing, I’m shocked to see the kind of flats low income people are living in. It’s illegal to let people live like this in Germany. Just to point out the differences!

Westminster Council will be lucky if they see any of that £10 million. I live across the river in Southwark, with similar developments. With Berkeley's One Blackfriars; the developers owed Southwark Council £29m towards social housing in the borough (reduced as they 'planned' to open a public roof terrace - which they changed their minds on. Shocker.) However it was reported that on completion that they'd 'not made profit' - no proof needed, just their good word - Southwark Council didn't see a penny in the end.

The UK's affordable housing policy is ridiculous. Instead of increasing the cost of private housing by adding this 30% affordable housing boondoggle (which in effect becomes an indirect tax on homeowners via higher housing costs), they should attack the root causes of the high cost of housing in the UK -- ridiculous zoning regulations that limit where housing can be built and how dense that housing can be. Adding cheap public transport to areas that are cheaper to live would also allow more people to live further away from the city center, where prices tend to be the highest.

It’s central London why is there going council/affordable housing ? This video don’t make sense.

The thing is that in expensive areas like Westminster aren't places for Social housing. Living in Westminster is a luxury, Social housing should be a necessity not a luxury.

London will become like Manila in the Philippines where people travel 2 to three hours twice a day just get to work, where there's virtually no affordable housing in the centre of Manila...that's no life...

6:03 - Correction, no one is moving in. Places like these are just there for people to store their wealth. I'll tell you now, 95% of those homes will be unoccupied. The rest will be holiday homes for the odd day in the year these millionaires stay in London.

I'm all for more social housing but this is ridiculous, of course there will be no social housing if they are going for 40 million an apartment.

sigh…The rich are so sadly and hideously piggish. And yet the British people seem to adore Kings and Queens.

This won't stop. The power of big money is just too much. Poorer people will have to move out and try to create their own small paradises in the countryside. I'm in the states and the same thing is happening here.

LOOL why would they have affordable housing in a luxury hotel. This guy trying his best to make a controversial documentary lol!…

can someone tell me how could a private foreign enterprise able to buy a historically significant UK government building ? why was it sold in the first place?

Why would you have social housing in there?

If only there’d been a candidate for PM in recent years who promised housing reform that this paper could have backed 🤔

I don’t understand why he wouldn’t accept housing less than 10 miles away? Transport links are so good in London as well so I don’t understand why you would rather live in a place filled with shit than just move?

Tommy - i hope it all works out for you. I hope successive governments make the changes needed to make it easier for you and others in your situation.

The Council was remiss for not extracting the full value of the planning permission granted for the new development. The building itself, located where it is, is not suitable for people on low incomes, because of its poor access to commercial and community facilities, such as affordable shops and services, health and education facilities, outdoor areas for children's play, etc. The developers want to maximise the return on their investment, which is fine so long as they share an appropriate amount of their profits with the council for investment in those parts of Westminster where affordable housing already exists, and is in need of modernisation, or there are is land viable for new development. Why they would forgo £30m when funding for new schemes is so scarce is a question that ought to be answered, so it would be interesting to know about what happened during the approval process, and if the decisions have been subject to audit. That said, Westminster has employed dubious planning practices since the days of Shirley Porter, the Tesco heiress who, as leader of the council in the 80s, was responsible for using the council's housing policy to gerrymander votes in the borough; a practice that was later deemed illegal by the district auditor. Lady Porter was levied with a surcharge, which, after a long wrangle through the courts, was settled at about £10m, back in the early 2000s. She was also stripped of her honorific title. Council members are under a duty to endeavour to obtain best value from dealing in the council's assets; but few of them will be as wealthy as Lady Porter. Council's in London are strapped for cash, and social housing is expensive. However, the crisis in affordable housing will adversely affect London if people on low - moderate incomes aren't able to live here. These are the people who provide London with its essential services, they work in its retail and hospitality industries, and they account for much of London's distinctive character and ethos. Without them, it risks becoming sterile and economically stagnant, which is something the UK can ill-afford.

It’s naïve to expect private luxury development to make affordable housing, this is the government’s responsibility. I’m not saying this because I don’t see the problem in this situation, but this is how capitalism works. I can’t picture this sumptuous building, right in a important location, costing the same as a cheap modernist boxy housing block… And If they did, the cheaper 30% would be in the spaces the wealthy don’t want, like in places with no or small windows, basement and attic.

Should never have been allowed to be sold off by the Government!

In Dallas, TX (USA) around the downtown area the land is very valuable to big developers who want to build luxury housing. Much of the land is owned by very poor blacks who live in cheap housing but they have owned their homes for many decades. These people are often elderly and can't afford to move. Plus the land has often been in their families for generations. What the huge developers are doing is partnering with people who work for the city to steal the homes. Outright. They do this by having the mailing address that's on file changed by the city. Then they have all of These code violations sent out that are never received. Eventually the city takes the land because of all the violations and the developers get it for close to nothing. I've spoken with many people in Dallas and this has happened to their aunts and grandmother's. It's evil.

How many guesses the reporter comes from a upper class background?

Building affordable housing in luxury apartments is a silly idea. Build proper standalone social housing.

Who are the owners of the new housing units? Do these multi millionaires avoid paying tax? The London council is obviously being bought in some way. Are they oligarchs? Are they corrupt officials and individuals? Excellent reporting. Please provide updates until the situation has been rectified.

Great awareness video, I do think it’s more than acceptable for the original £38 million to be donated rather than the 1/3 of the property being used for affordable housing. Thanks for sharing

you wouldn’t have social housing in Westminster, it is some of the most valuable land in the world and Whitehall is one of the most important streets in the country

I wouldn't turn my nose up at a free home in Neasden.

Why would it have social housing? Very random topic. Some things in life need to be paid for. Can’t expect everyone to live the same lives otherwise what is the point of working and studying

"No affordable housing," as expected!

You can’t have social housing ruining such a beautiful building, they can put some social housing on the outskirts of London. There is no need for it be in prime locations

I mean is there such a thing as affordable housing in London? Lol. No one should be surprised

I can sense the Guardian thinks I should be furiously angry about this, but I'm not. What difference does it make to the overall housing situation in London? None at all. What *would* make a difference is building new affordable housing on unused land, or expanding existing affordable housing developments. Former cabinet offices with vast classical façades are not optimal sites for council estates.

Great place for hostile states to test out new devices for remote surveillance.

Why should property developers be forced to include affordable housing? I've seen this same thing in Clifton, Bristol, where exquisite properties in affluent neighbourhoods are marred by the eyesore of the substandard housing opposite them.

I moved out of London,came to Manchester..now Manchester is becoming unaffordable..wages here are not great

The 1 reason real estate will not crash is that less than 1% of all mortgages are in foreclosure. Less than 3% are delinquent. Most sellers have record home equity. Job loss resulting in a financial bind won't result in foreclosure but a sale.

This is why I don't watch the news, too problem focused rather than solution focused

No social housing??? WTF! Shocker.... :O

They can reverse it but they wont because they are bought out. its that simple.

Why is there even a question being asked regarding social housing? Raffles Hotel London is privately owned by the Hinduja Group and ONEX.

What are those of "social housing" requirements doing on behalf of the people who live in "luxury development"?

It was a public building for years. It was renovated about 30 years ago. It is spectacular

Alot of people have already moved to Birmingham, from London in the last few years

Lmao , even if there was social housing in that development I doubt it would go to anyone English , why should private developments include social housing , why haven’t the councils been taken to task for not building houses instead of selling off every green field they can …

Do people really expect 'affordable housing' in that development?

I disagree with what the guy was saying. I feel like you should earn the right to live in smart areas in London not just be given it just because you lived there in the past, it's unrealistic to provide the vast amount of social housing needed in the smartest areas of London. Plus if you are given free accommodation by the council then I feel like you shouldn't turn your nose up at it wherever it might be. From my point of view it makes more economic sense to sell up the high value, horrendous low quality social housing shown in this video, and with the money the council should build a higher quantity of high quality social housing in a less desirable areas which would be a lot more of an effective way to deal with the issue. Its a bit of a no brainer to me...

So here is the question which we didn't get an answer to? how many affordable flats are the council building with the 10 million? 50? and if they had gotten 39.6 million, they would have only built 98? 400k+ a flat is not affordable housing.

Keep the rich and poor in separate areas

If it's a public building, how did private enterprise get hold of the people's property?

Thanks that was a great video

There shouldn’t be affordable housing there. But the Burrough should have fought to get the $30 mil.

Depise the tories with a passion but Labour councils need to learn to take more responsibility for the failures in housing in London. I voted green at the last local election because I’m tired of the two parties failing the country!

I agree they should have paid their legal share as that’s what they signed up for when they bought the building and budgeted for the renovation, that’s the councils fault for being incompetent in securing the funds. However, to suggest that the OWO which is a Raffles fully serviced apartment complex should have Affordable housing in is utterly ridiculous. the service charges are in the £10s if not £100s of thousands a year. They clean your home every day. The OWO will bring in millions in taxes in other ways No homes built on Whitehall adjacent to Trafalgar Square are ever going to be affordable.

the stamp duty collected from the sale of these apartments alone can pay for many social housing. The responsibility to provide affordable housing should be on the government, not developers.

Why would any reasonable person put Social Housing in a building of such quality and cultural importance as this famous landmark? There would be holes in the walls and doors within months of social housing tenants moving in. However, the developer should be paying for an appropriate number of SH units to be built elsewhere for NHS nurses, junior doctors, and support staff of all types in the NHS as well as public service workers.

There is this place called “the rest of the UK” where housing is more affordable. Everyone knows London is insanely expensive, especially when it comes to renting and buying.

No one should have this sort of money. This sort of greed just shouldn't be allowed... we should be furious.

I would love to talk to the Guardian regarding social housing

I don’t get how they were able to get away with paying a much lower percentage…isn’t it either or? 🤔🤷🏻‍♀️ Can all new builds do that cos if so…that’s messed up. I like the idea of affordable housing but I don’t see how that works, does it only go to people within a certain wage bracket? How can you have affordable housing in such an expensive location?

That is the disparity in wealth in the Borough of Westminster, you can go from Mayfair to the council estates of Lisson Grove in just over a couple of miles and it is a different world!

Why do they have to live in center London ? Why can’t they communicate like the rest of us ?

TBH fair enough to the Billionaires I wouldn’t want social housing next door

Well, presumably the government sold the building to those developers in the first place. So it was within their control to ensure the buyers would comply with their own laws. But they didn’t. So shouldn’t that be investigate? I have the feeling you‘re on to something bigger here

Why would any sane property developer spend 1.2bn on a housing complex and put in social housing units..? The private apartments would never sell in a million years if they did. Also, how do social housing tenants deserved to live in central London anyway, 98% of the population cannot afford to.

move to another city or borough then.

With the slow decline of the UK, that 40 million dollar flat will be worth 20 million one day.

I agree they should have paid the £39m. I assume the government thinks attracting millionaires from around the world who are spending their days buying jewellery and cars will compensate for the lower figure over time, but also, that is not a building that should have social housing. Especially if you have mental health issues, living in a place like that with crowds, sirens, planes, helicopters all hours of the day and night (I know I lived in Waterloo for 3 years) is not ideal.

meanwhile 18.5M people are homeless and in uninhabitable unfit flats smh

It’s true, next 100 years it’s just a rich playground.

Why would there be any social housing in this block..seems pretty ridiculous

Just let you know you can Pay off the council when building a new building and not have affordable housing and developers do it all the time

In a market driven economy how does social housing funded by the government using taxes fit into that model? Surely no subsidy would mean less housing in inflation which would then benefit all. Discuss?

What a disgrace, a British building and institution that should be a public building. Not flats or even worse social housing

Obscene

Great topic. Hope you will continue to explore. Ps is there such a thing as Council housing in Mayfair?!

Fucking vile! Really? I have homeless friends who sleep on the dam floor and can't even get a proper hot meal to help themselves, this is sickining 😡😡

Scandelous. Disgusting. What has become of G.B. A King who has no Honour. Billionairs pricing out decent normal working Londoners. This Property must have been sold by our Government. Where are the rebellous intellectuals ?

Austerity? billionaires are a luxury WE can no longer afford.

I am not saying we should make poorer people homeless, of course not, but why do they need to live in the most expensive buildings that people worked their lives off to afford?

Perfect example of rich gets richer. Rules are merely suggestions for the rich.

ferrari and laborghini are also disgusting for not providing their cars for £10, its atrocious

Is this a joke? We are having a cost of living crisis and this is happening? This government is a joke...

True reason I move out of London it’s simple to expensive

I get the point of the video, but any sensible person will understand there is no way affordable housing is going to be put into a building like that in it's grandeur and design in the middle of London. Its a bit of a stretch of comparison for housing.

Ever hear they saying “you get what you pay for”?

We need a housing regulator in the UK

Gentrification, any which way you look at it. People who are born there are told to get the fuck out. Money buys you all but love these days. Money will by you a tory MP for sure. EDIT...give them all jackets. Green, like they give golfers who win majors. Green jackets, with added letters and words such as bought and paid for such and such. BP, Exxon, Shell, Quadrilla, Ineos comes to mind.

Why should developments be forced to build affordable housing. It's not developers paying, it's everyone else's house having a higher price tag. How about councils stop wasting money painting rainbows on the roads and build dedicated council houses.

If I was spending £40 million on a flat surely I'd have the right NOT to have council house junkies as my neighbours??

Thank you for your analysis

I know its not affordable, but its better than nothing, it still increases the overall supply of housing.

Why would you build social housing next to mega mansions?

They would of had to pay section 106 and CIL out of this money the council can build affordable housing but unfortunately it’s quite difficult for councils to build

To be fair ... its a market economy ....But moral and social standards require if not voluntarily otherwise legally to share and care for our community . A " generous "percentage should be set aside to build affordable or social housing here or elswhere . Please put into Practice the Hinduja family " Service with devotion " Ideology , Spirituality and Vegetarianism ....as documented in diverse interviews .

Imagine spending £40m on a flat… not a mansion with private land and staff and lots of amazing wildlife and animals.. seems a waste. We need to follow other European countries models, like Germany, as others have pointed out in the comments. Housing regulation is the only way to solve this

Good. What about affordable housing that is not in a listed building? Concord did not have cheap seats but 747's did. This video is deranged.

Neasden where this champ is supposed to move into a new studio is 50mins away by public transport to his old home in Westminster