The Observer: "London's skyline: Boris, we agree London is a great city. So help us keep it that way"

Link to web site

"The London Mayor and his officers have so far responded patchily to the London Skyline debate, led by the Observer and the Architects' Journal and supported by leading figures in business, architecture, property and culture. Johnson has written a defensive and not wholly accurate article in the Evening Standard and members of his planning team have spoken at debates on the subject. 

"Their argument is that the London skyline is not out of control and that the city has a planning apparatus that is working perfectly well.

"They were half right. There is indeed a planning apparatus of some complexity in London. There is the London Plan, which says things about tall buildings with which few could disagree – that they can have a role to play, but that they should be well designed and in the right place, and that their effect at ground level should be considered. 

"There is guidance by the Commission for Architecture and the Built Environment and English Heritage that says much the same thing, which is also close to what the London public seems to want, as sampled by a recent Ipsos MORI poll."

Link to web site

"How do we tackle the housing market crisis?"

"The UK housing market is in desperate need of reform. As Lloyds Banking Group imposes a cap on large loans, we ask experts from all sides of the issue for their solutions.

"Andrew Sentance, former MPC member:

"House prices in the UK are rising too fast. Latest figures show 8% inflation across the country and double that in the London area. In London, there is already a housing bubble and there could soon be one nationally. This is not healthy. Prices and wages are rising by less than 2% a year. When house prices are going up at four-to-five times the rate of incomes and other prices, danger looms.

We need a healthy market where houses are affordable for first-time buyers, and people can move around the country to find employment or because their circumstances change. Yet affordability ratios are becoming stretched. Finding somewhere to live in the most economically dynamic part of the UK – the London area – is becoming increasingly difficult."

Link to:
A brief history of British housing
"From 'a land fit for heroes to live in' to the 2000s boom,
housebuilding has gone through many peaks and troughs"

(That's enough from The Observer. Ed.)