Wandsworth Council has spent the past two years promising to fix housing. But with soaring costs, angry residents, and a long list of unusual – and often unpopular – policies, the borough’s approach is now under formal investigation.
This autumn, a government-appointed Planning Inspector will launch a public examination into the council’s draft Local Plan, which includes a headline-grabbing proposal to make developers build 45% affordable housing in every new private development.
That figure is 10% higher than what’s required across the rest of London. And it’s already caused a political rift: Mayor Sadiq Khan, who lives in Tooting, has formally objected [pdf] to the plan, warning that Wandsworth’s approach is “not in general conformity” with London planning policy and would discourage new building altogether.
In short: Wandsworth’s efforts to solve the housing crisis may backfire because they make it harder to build homes.
Inspector’s decision expected early next year
Wandsworth submitted its plan on 30 April 2025, triggering a examination by the Planning Inspectorate. Public hearings are expected to begin this autumn, likely in September or October, with a final ruling due in early 2026.
Until then, developers still follow the existing rules: 35% affordable housing on private land, no late-stage viability reviews, and a streamlined “Fast Track Route” for compliant schemes. But if the new plan is approved, that will change dramatically.
The Inspector will look closely at whether Wandsworth’s proposals are:
- Viable – can they actually be delivered?
- Compliant – do they follow legal and national planning policies?
- Realistic – or are they political gestures that risk backfiring?
The 45% rule and why the Mayor says it won’t work
The GLA’s response pulls no punches. In February, City Hall warned that Wandsworth’s 45% requirement is unviable on most sites—including in the borough’s own evidence.
It said that raising the bar so high would push developers into lengthy back-and-forth viability assessments, slow down new building, and reduce the amount of affordable housing delivered overall.
Wandsworth’s plan also proposes bringing back late-stage viability reviews—even for developers who meet the new higher target. Late-stage viability reviews are a mechanism that lets councils reassess a development’s profits near the end of construction to potentially demand more affordable housing or financial contributions if the scheme turns out to be more lucrative than first claimed.
Developers hate viability reviews as they’re often used to squeeze money out of them after they’ve already committed to buildings, and because they make planning decisions slower and less predictable. The Mayor agrees and says the double burden will deter developers, slow down delivery, and result in fewer homes being built.
But Wandsworth wants to reintroduce them, even as housing experts, and the borough’s own consultants say that’s not a recipe for more homes—it’s a recipe for delay.
A pattern of going it alone
The 45% rule is just the latest in a string of high-profile, high-risk moves from Wandsworth’s cabinet member for housing, Councillor Aydin Dikerdem.
His decisions have included:
- Taking over an entire new hotel in Tooting to house homeless families, with 186 rooms booked out long-term by the council. It could save money on temporary accommodation—but has raised eyebrows, including by local councillors.
- Approving new builds on council estates even when residents are unanimously opposed, including Hayward Gardens, Innes Gardens, Whitnell Way, Cortis Road, Toland Square, and others.
- Pushing ahead with a borough-wide rental clampdown, requiring many landlords to be licensed, even in areas with few problems.
- Overseeing a £40 million housing overspend—driven in part by failures to deal with mould, leaks, and disrepair in council homes.
- Being criticised in a damning C3 rating by the Regulator of Social Housing, which said Wandsworth was lagging behind other councils in keeping homes safe and responding to complaints.
- Facing exposure for a four-year housing scandal at a block in Putney where rotting roofs, leaks and neglect were repeatedly ignored by the council.
Supporters see Dikerdem’s policies as radical and necessary. Critics say he’s over-promising and under-delivering — and now trying to bend the rules to make it all add up.
What happens next?
The Planning Inspectorate will publish a timetable for hearings over the summer, and public hearings are expected in September–November 2025, with a decision due in early 2026, just months before the next London elections.
The outcome of that could force Wandsworth to scrap or revise its housing plan, or give it a green light to push ahead. In the meantime, developers are hedging their bets—some rushing to submit applications before new rules kick in, others pausing altogether.
For Wandsworth’s residents, the stakes are high. If the council is right, its bold plan could secure thousands more affordable homes. But if it’s wrong, the borough could face years of delays, rising costs, and missed opportunities while housing need continues to grow.
The Inspector’s decision may decide more than just policy. It could show whether Wandsworth’s housing team is writing the future, or just writing cheques it can’t cash.
