Chancellor urged to give green light to Crossrail 2

Property developers and housing associations call on Chancellor to give go-ahead for £30Bn Crossrail 2 project.

A total of sixty-six house builders and property developers have used the Government and Chancellor Phillip Hammond to back Crossrail 2, in order to “fix the housing crisis”.

The property industry leaders have backed the project, saying it would help ease London’s housing crisis by unlocking more than 200,000 homes.

Writing to the Chancellor Philip Hammond, they said: “It will transform transport capacity and connectivity for underdeveloped areas of the capital, such as the Upper Lea Valley, giving the certainty needed to accelerate the development of up to 200,000 new homes.”

Signatories of the letter include Melanie Leech, head of the British Property Federation, all of the members of the G15 – London’s biggest housing associations – and Tony Pidgley, the chairman of Berkeley Homes.

The areas currently underserved by transport would be opened up by Crossrail 2, boosting housing across the wider South East, with 30% of new homes to be delivered outside the capital.

Ms Leech said that the scheme “will stimulate regeneration up and down its route from the Solent to the Wash, opening sites for new housing and employment. A swift decision from Government on Crossrail 2 would provide a vote of confidence for our industry”.

In 2019, Crossrail 1 is due to open fully, and has opened up the development of Thameside in south-east London, with 20,000 new homes there built by Peabody. Stephen Howlett, Chief Executive of the housing association, said: “Crossrail 2 would have a similarly transformative effect across London.”

A new report by JLL for the Westminster Property Association found that the property sector could pay more towards the cost of the project than the Elizabeth Line, due to revenue from the community infrastructure levy and the business rate supplement. London has committed to meeting half the cost of the project.

More than 70 businesses including EY, Canary Wharf Group and Heathrow Airport said that Crossrail 2 was “of national importance”, adding that it would create more than 100,000 additional jobs in the capital.

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