The Mayor of London, Sadiq Khan has today launched a ‘Singapore-style’ housing development arm for the capital, marking a major shift in how City Hall supports and delivers new homes.
As part of this, the Greater London Authority (GLA) will invest £100m to become part of the Silvertown Partnership and deliver 7,000 new homes on a key site in the Royal Docks, East London. Around 1,000 of the new homes are expected to be under construction by 2028.
The announcement, which represents one of the largest investments made by any Mayor of London into a single development site, was made during the Mayor’s trade mission to Singapore and Japan, where he is promoting London as a leading global destination for investment.
This marks a significant step towards City Hall becoming an active developer, intervening in London’s land market to maximise affordable housing delivery and accelerate the speed of building, rather than solely funding or supporting third parties. The approach is part of the Mayor’s new City Hall Developer initiative which is being supported by nearly £2bn from government in grant and low-interest loans at 0.1 per cent for the first time, helping housing associations boost the delivery of much-needed new homes. Silvertown is first in a major pipeline of sites that Mayor plans to unlock through this initiative.
The model draws on the way many new homes are built in Singapore which has seen strong government involvement in housing for decades, with the state responsible for building around 80 per cent of homes and owning the vast majority of land. This approach has enabled sustained, large-scale delivery of housing and integrated urban development supported by long-term public investment.
The Mayor and representatives of the Silvertown Partnership marked the agreement during a visit to Singapore’s SkyResidence development in Queenstown. This is one of the first schemes delivered by Singapore’s public housing authority, ‘Singapore Housing and Development Board’. Here they were able to tour the sky garden offering extensive skyline views of Singapore’s housing developments to see at first-hand the transformational impact of state-led housing delivery.
The agreement at Silvertown is an example of City Hall playing a more direct role in delivering homes, including through joint ventures and innovative financing approaches to unlock challenging sites across London. It highlights how the Mayor and GLA Group are working to increase housing supply by improving affordability and accelerating the pace of housebuilding. This includes preparing sites which the market is unable to take forward alone, through co-investment and interventions that help enable development.
The Mayor of London, Sadiq Khan, said: “I am delighted to be launching our groundbreaking ‘Singapore-style’ housing development arm for the capital today.
“I’m proud to be investing £100m – one of the largest investments made by any Mayor of London – to help build and deliver thousands of new, high-quality and affordable homes at Silvertown.
“This is a new era for housebuilding in London, with City Hall investing directly in new homes, unblocking stalled sites and speeding up development.
“It has been fascinating to visit the Pinnacle housing development here in Singapore and see at first hand the impact of a state-led housing model. By becoming part of the Silvertown Partnership, we can have a similar impact in the Royal Docks, where we plan to deliver 7,000 new homes.
“It builds on our record investment of nearly £12 billion through my Affordable Homes Programme to deliver social and affordable housing across London and our package of pro-housing emergency measures with government to turbo-boost the delivery of new homes in the capital.
“However, housebuilding continues to be impacted by a perfect storm due to the disastrous legacy of the previous government, high interest rates, the rising cost of construction materials, the impact of the pandemic and Brexit and Building Safety Regulator delays. That is why I will continue to make tackling our housing crisis a top priority as part of my ongoing work to build a better and fairer London for all.”
Ed Mayes, Executive Director of Development for the Silvertown Partnership, said: “Today’s agreement is an important step forward for Silvertown and reflects the strength of our new partnership with the Mayor of London. This investment provides the certainty needed to unlock a complex site that has remained dormant for decades, allowing us to accelerate new homes, including affordable housing, alongside a vibrant new town centre for the Royal Docks.
“Over the past five years, the sector has faced exceptional pressures. In this context, coordinated public sector investment is a meaningful intervention that enables delivery where the market alone cannot. With this support in place, Silvertown can continue to make progress and realise its potential as a thriving new neighbourhood for east London.”
Mayor of Newham Forhad Hussain said: “Having City Hall as part of the Silvertown Partnership is a gamechanger for Newham and our ambitious long-term plans for the Royal Docks.
“It means thousands of new homes over the next few years and crucially more affordable homes in the places where they are needed most.
“I welcome the Mayor of London’s ambitions for both Silvertown and the wider Royal Docks. The new approach by City Hall will give Silvertown the shot in the arm it needs to reach its full potential as East London’s new waterfront neighbourhood, while protecting the existing communities who have called the area home for many years.”
Catriona Simons, Group Chief Executive at The Guinness Partnership, said: “The Guinness Partnership welcomes the Mayor’s announcement. We are delighted to be delivering 734 much needed affordable, energy efficient homes in Newham. We have already welcomed 47 residents into the first 106 newly completed affordable homes, which will be part of this vibrant new neighbourhood, in the heart of East London. Along with partners and contractor Lendlease, we look forward to being part of Silvertown’s exciting future.”
Silvertown is one of the Royal Docks most significant regeneration sites, having laid dormant for more than 40 years eluding the attempts of successive mayors and governments to regenerate it.
Its transformation is already advancing at pace as part of the Mayor’s vision for the site to become a vibrant new town centre for the Royal Docks. A revised masterplan for the project was signed off by Newham Council in December to deliver 7,000 homes, 1,800 of which will be affordable.
The first phase of development is delivering 1,032 homes, with more than half of those affordable, and The Guinness Partnership welcomed the first residents on site earlier this year.
The 60 acre site is owned by GLA Land and Property and work is already underway to deliver a total of 7million square feet of residential, commercial and public space. The site also includes the east London landmark, Millennium Mills, best known in recent years for its appearance in film and TV shows.
A new pedestrian and cycle bridge across Royal Victoria Dock is also progressing, supported with funding by the London Borough of Newham. The bridge will improve connections to Custom House and the Elizabeth Line.
More broadly, the Mayor plans to build more than 36,000 new homes and create 55,000 new jobs across the Royal Docks – as part of his vision to transform the area into a thriving, new waterfront district, which includes new homes on the water and the capital’s first large scale floating park and lido.
Earlier this year, Sadiq announced that his new City Hall Developer Investment Fund (CHDIF) is making £1.5 billion available in very low-cost interest loans for housing associations, helping to accelerate the construction of new, affordable and social housing across the capital. It brings the fund’s total investment to £1.82bn, close to City Hall’s £2bn ambition.
This funding will be used by the Mayor to provide grants to unlock development, where there’s a need for wider investment in infrastructure and loans where developers have specific issues over accessing finance, costs and terms.
The Mayor is continuing to work closely with the Government to boost delivery and is committed to building on the progress which has already made to tackle London’s housing crisis, with more new council homes started under Sadiq in London than at any time since the 1970s and, prior to the pandemic, more new homes of all tenures completed in London than at any point since the 1930s.
On average, Sadiq is delivering over 10,000 more new homes in the capital each year than the previous Mayor and since 2018, nearly 30,000 council homes have been built – or are being built – with the help of City Hall funding. And last year, the number of council homes completed by London boroughs through GLA-funded programmes was at its highest level since 2016-17.
The Silvertown Partnership has already benefited from £233 million in infrastructure loan funding from Homes England to unlock the site’s potential.
The Mayor committed in his 2024 manifesto to deliver an expanded City Hall developer. This follows on from recommendations in the 2022 Kerslake Review – an independent report commissioned by the Mayor to increase the speed and scope of housing delivery on land owned by the GLA Group.
The joint venture agreement announced today will also see the GLA become a 50 per cent shareholder in The Silvertown Partnership – the organisation responsible for redeveloping the area – alongside Lendlease, a developer with proven expertise in complex urban and regeneration projects. It also forms part of Lendlease’s conditional joint venture with The Crown Estate.
The City Hall Developer programme is being presented through the Mayor of London Homes initiative, which brings together information about housing development activity across the GLA Group under the Mayor’s leadership. https://mayoroflondonhomes.london.gov.uk/
Unlocking this long-dormant brownfield site has required coordinated public investment, including £233m in Homes England infrastructure funding. In a period marked by challenging market conditions, this investment is enabling Silvertown to maintain momentum at a time when delivery across the sector is facing significant challenges.
The Royal Docks is one of largest regeneration areas in London, with seven significant developments being brought forward across 175 hectares of public land belonging to the Greater London Authority (GLA), representing a mix of residential, commercial, and industrial developments. Approximately £5bn of investment is planned for the area over the next 20 years. www.royaldocks.london
This goes even further than developments like Barking Riverside, where the GLA has entered a joint venture focussed on remediating land, masterplanning, placemaking and delivering infrastructure, with plots disposed to other partners to deliver homes.
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Today, the Mayor of London’s development corporation for Old Oak and Park Royal has launched a procurement process for a Private Sector Partner to work in partnership with the organisation in delivering the landmark regeneration of Old Oak in west London.
Old Oak is one of the most important regeneration opportunities in the UK which will create a new urban district bringing 8,000 new homes, including affordable homes, up to 200,000 square metres of work and community space, and extensive public realm including two new parks across approximately 31 hectares of brownfield land.
The regeneration is anchored by Old Oak Common station where HS2, Elizabeth line, Great Western Mainline and Heathrow Express services meet, which will make Old Oak one of the best-connected places in the UK.
The procurement opportunity was launched at an event at the London Centre attracting 150 guests from the development industry who heard from speakers including Rail Minister, Lord Hendy, London Deputy Mayors Tom Copley and Howard Dawber, alongside OPDC Chair Dame Karen Buck and Chief Executive Matthew Carpen.
Procurement went live on Thursday 28 May and will be managed in a two-stage process. This starts with a Participation and Initial Tenders stage running to Autumn 2026, followed by a Dialogue and Final Tenders stage, that will culminate in the selection of a preferred bidder early in 2027.
To find out more about the Private Sector Partner opportunity, visit: Old Oak procurement | London City Hall
The launch of procurement for a private sector partner for Old Oak demonstrates the strong alignment across national and London government and with our host boroughs of Brent, Ealing and Hammersmith & Fulham, with a unity of purpose and commitment that is truly inspiring and provides an exceptional platform for success. This step is the next vital component to deliver Old Oak and create a new district for west London that has innovation and inclusive growth at its heart.
— Dame Karen Buck, Chair of OPDC
Today is a landmark moment for OPDC, for west London and for the future shape of this city. With 31 hectares of public land at Old Oak now under a single, unified strategy, we have been given an incredible responsibility to move from planning into delivery at pace. Now we are launching our search for a long term partner who shares our ambition and wants to help create London’s next great urban district.
— Matthew Carpen, Chief Executive of OPDC
London’s largest brownfield regeneration site has taken a major step forward, as the Mayor of London’s Old Oak and Park Royal Development Corporation (OPDC) secures agreement to the heads of terms for a landmark Public Land Agreement with government and launches the search for a visionary Private Sector Partner to deliver thousands of homes and jobs.
OPDC will consolidate its land with sites owned by the Department for Transport (DfT) into a single approximately 70‑acre development site under public sector ownership. This will create, for the first time, a unified platform to plan and deliver the capital’s biggest brownfield regeneration project, Old Oak.
Set around Old Oak Common station in west London – the country’s largest and best‑connected new station, linking HS2, the Elizabeth line, the Great Western Main Line and Heathrow Express – the Old Oak project will deliver 8,000 new homes, 200,000 sqm of commercial and community space, new public realm and green space, and a world‑class hub for tech, research and business. In total, Old Oak will support 11,000 jobs and create a thriving new canal-side district for west London.
With the land now aligned under a single strategy, OPDC is launching a two‑stage procurement to appoint an ambitious, innovative Private Sector Partner capable of shaping and delivering this nationally significant opportunity. A preferred partner is expected to be selected by Spring 2027.
This landmark partnership between London and national government marks a major step forward in driving both London-wide and national housing delivery and economic growth. It follows investment of £340m from the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government (MHCLG) used by OPDC to assemble privately owned sites in Old Oak.
A Tender Notice, providing instruction on how to access the procurement portal, will be available on the Old Oak section of the OPDC website and via the government’s Find a Tender Service from 28 May 2026. The procurement portal will contain the procurement documentation, which will set out the requirements for any suppliers considering whether to submit a tender.
This landmark partnership with national government means the capital’s biggest brownfield site, Old Oak, can now deliver for Londoners, driving forward significant housing delivery and economic growth. Together, we’re unlocking land for thousands of affordable homes and jobs, alongside thriving public spaces all connected by incredible transport links. This vibrant new canalside district at Old Oak will transform West London and shape its future for decades to come, as we continue to build a greener, fairer and more prosperous city for all.
— Sadiq Khan, Mayor of London
The new station at Old Oak Common for HS2 will be a massive catalyst for growth, housing and jobs in West London and will drive a £10 billion boost to the national and local economy.
This partnership unlocks all that – bringing together 70 acres of land so Old Oak and Park Royal Development Corporation delivers what is one of the UK’s largest regeneration opportunities, including 8,000 new homes.
— Lord Peter Hendy, Rail Minister
Securing the land is a breakthrough moment for OPDC. Our collaboration with national and London government has brought Old Oak together as a single, strategic development site — giving the market certainty and unlocking exceptional placemaking potential. With Old Oak Common station at its heart, offering unrivalled connections across London, the regions and Heathrow, this is a once‑in‑a‑generation chance to deliver thousands of homes and jobs.
Now, we are seeking an exemplar joint‑venture partner with the vision and capability to turn this ambition into reality. Together, we will drive this forward at pace to create the capital’s next great urban district: a place that shows what can be achieved when public purpose and private expertise work side by side.
— Dame Karen Buck
The Mayor of London, Sadiq Khan, has approved a £50 million investment to support the delivery of more than 500 affordable homes across the capital by March 2032—helping to provide the homes Londoners urgently need.
The investment will be provided from funds repaid into the Homes for Londoners Land Fund – a key Mayoral programme designed to accelerate housing delivery and increase the supply of affordable homes in London. Last summer the Mayor announced that the Land Fund had started more than 8000 new homes – five years ahead of schedule.(3)
As part of this investment, City Hall will provide a £50 million loan to Peabody, one of the capital’s largest housing associations, enabling it to unlock new developments and bring forward more than 500 affordable homes.
The Homes for Londoners Land Fund plays a central role in the Mayor’s plans to tackle London’s housing crisis by supporting strategic land investment and unlocking development opportunities. This latest allocation demonstrates how, in difficult circumstances for housing construction, City Hall is continuing to use funding flexibly and efficiently to maximise delivery and support sustainable communities across London. It also builds on successful previous delivery and recovery of funds, which enables the Fund to redeploy funding into innovative proposals like this to unlock new housing.
Alongside this announcement, City Hall has today published funding guidance for the first £324 million round of the City Hall Developer Investment Fund, to be provided via the GLA’s Integrated Settlement. Separately, the Mayor recently announced an additional £1.5 billion package would be made available to London to provide low-cost loans for housing associations aimed at accelerating the construction of new social and affordable homes across the capital.(4)
Housebuilding in London continues to face significant challenges, including high interest rates, rising construction costs, the lasting impacts of the pandemic and Brexit, and delays linked to building safety requirements.
The City Hall Developer Investment Fund will continue the work started by the Land Fund, focusing on using money in a flexible way to get stalled development sites moving again, especially those that can deliver new homes as quickly as possible. Funding is available from 2026/27, and the GLA expects to select prioritised projects from this summer.
The Mayor is continuing to work closely with the Government and partners across the sector to boost delivery and build on progress already made. More new council homes have been started in London under Sadiq Khan than at any time since the 1970s and, prior to the pandemic, more new homes of all tenures were completed than at any point since the 1930s.
This latest £50 million loan to Peabody builds on the £11.7 billion of funding committed through the Mayor’s Social and Affordable Homes Programme over the next decade—the largest and longest investment in affordable housing the capital has ever seen. The Mayor continues to encourage housing providers to come forward and bid for funding to help deliver much-needed homes in every London borough.(5)
The Mayor of London, Sadiq Khan, said: “Delivering the homes Londoners need is one of my top priorities and I am determined to do everything in my power to increase the number of genuinely affordable homes in our city.
“This £50 million investment will unlock more than 500 new affordable homes, helping families across London access safe, secure and affordable places to live. By working in partnership with housing associations like Peabody and making use of available funding, we are accelerating delivery even in the face of significant challenges.
“But there is more to do. That’s why we are also launching the first phase of our City Hall Developer Investment Fund to help get more homes built faster. We must continue to work together so we can build a fairer London for everyone, where all Londoners have the opportunity of a home.”
Ian McDermott, Chief Executive Officer of Peabody, said: “This funding will help us unlock the delivery of more than 500 affordable homes across London. For the people who will live in them, that means the security of a stable place to call home and the chance to stay connected to their families and friends, work, and communities.
“Working in partnership with City Hall, the government and others allows us to plan with confidence and make the most of opportunities to build where homes are most needed.
“This support will help us keep a strong pipeline of new homes coming forward – so more Londoners can find a genuinely affordable place to live in the neighbourhoods they know and value.”
The Mayor of London, Sadiq Khan, has announced today that his new City Hall Developer Investment Fund (CHDIF) is making £1.5 billion available in very low-cost interest loans for housing associations, helping to accelerate the construction of new, affordable and social housing across the capital. [1]
However, housebuilding continues to be impacted by a perfect storm due to the disastrous legacy of the previous government, high interest rates, the rising cost of construction materials, the impact of the pandemic and Brexit and Building Safety Regulator delays.
Secured from central government, City Hall will deliver low-interest loans at 0.1 per cent for the first time – which are well below current market levels – for housing finance. The loans will provide additional support to help build more homes through innovative finance, helping to unlock challenging sites across London and supporting Sadiq’s action to deliver more homes for thousands of Londoners. [2]
The Mayor is continuing to work closely with the Government to boost delivery and is committed to building on the progress which has already made to tackle London’s housing crisis, with more new council homes started under Sadiq in London than at any time since the 1970s and, prior to the pandemic, more new homes of all tenures completed in London than at any point since the 1930s. [3]
On average, Sadiq is delivering over 10,000 more new homes in the capital each year than the previous Mayor and since 2018, more than 25,000 council homes have been built – or are being built – with the help of City Hall funding. And last year, the number of council homes completed by London boroughs through GLA-funded programmes was at its highest level since 2016-17.
The CHDIF was allocated millions in grant funding in October last year as part of new emergency measures the Mayor announced with Housing Secretary Steve Reed to ramp up housebuilding. [4] London became the first major UK city to receive an initial allocation of £322 million from the Government’s National Housing Delivery Fund (NHDF), helping to boost large-scale housing projects in our city.
Today, Sadiq has confirmed an additional £1.5bn will be made available through the City Hall Developer Investment Fund over the next year – which is 60 per cent of the £2.5bn national allocation. It brings the fund’s total investment to £1.82bn, close to City Hall’s £2bn ambition.
Establishing the City Hall Developer Investment Fund was the Mayor’s 2021 manifesto commitment, which was endorsed by the 2022 Kerslake Review – an independent report commissioned to increase the speed and scope of housing delivery on land owned by the Greater London Authority (GLA).
This fresh investment to boost the delivery of much-needed new homes is on top of up to £11.7bn funding through the Mayor’s Social and Affordable Homes Programme over the next decade, which will also be supported by these low-cost loans [5]. It is the biggest and longest investment the capital has ever received and the Mayor continues to urge housing providers to bid for funding to help deliver social and affordable housing in every London borough.
The Mayor of London, Sadiq Khan, said: “This £1.5 billion investment from our new City Hall Developer Investment Fund will help us kickstart the delivery of more affordable homes.
“We’re doing something that hasn’t been done in decades – providing low-interest loans to build the affordable homes Londoners desperately need.
“There are so many good, affordable housing projects in our city that need some extra support to get going. These low-interest loans will help make these homes a reality.
“I will continue to work closely with Government, councils and other partners and do everything I can to accelerate the delivery of genuinely affordable homes as we continue to build a better, fairer London for everyone.”
Housing and Planning Minister Matthew Pennycook said: “Through our new 10-year £39 billion Social and Affordable Homes Programme, support for the City Hall Developer Investment Fund, £1.5 billion in funding for low-interest loans, and investment in planning capacity and capability, we’re giving London the tools it needs to address the severe housing delivery challenges it is facing.
“Working in close partnership with the Mayor, we are committed to delivering record numbers of social and affordable homes in the years ahead so that more Londoners can enjoy a decent, safe, secure and affordable home of their own.”
Kate Henderson, Chief Executive of the National Housing Federation, said: “We strongly welcome these low-cost, long-term loans being made available to help turn the tide on the housing crisis in London.
“Housing associations are eager to build much-needed, truly affordable social homes across the capital and these loans will help unlock their capacity to do so at scale and pace.”
Rachael Williamson, director of policy, communications and external affairs at the Chartered Institute of Housing (CIH), said: “This additional investment in the City Hall Development Investment Fund is a welcome boost for affordable and social housing delivery in London. Long-term, low-cost finance will help housing associations unlock complex sites and maintain momentum in building the homes Londoners urgently need. Partnership approaches like this are vital to supporting delivery at scale in challenging market conditions.”
Ian McDermott, Peabody CEO and Chair of G15, said: “Tackling London’s housing crisis is a shared mission for government, the Mayor and housing associations, and this announcement reflects the strength of the partnership. This low-cost, long-term funding will have a positive impact alongside the ten-year Social and Affordable Homes Programme and support and accelerate delivery in the years ahead. At Peabody and across the G15, we’ll continue to do all we can with the Mayor and the boroughs to help reduce homelessness and overcrowding and meet urgent housing need across the capital.”
[1] In October 2025, it was announced that London would receive around £322 million in grant funding from the National Housing Delivery Fund (NHDF) to establish a City Hall Developer Investment Fund.
The fund is a new government programme (announced in June 2025) to provide £5 billion in grant funding for infrastructure and land assembly to support housing projects, complementing the new National Housing Bank.
The fund will be available in 2026-27. London was the first major city to receive funding.
The loans will be available at an interest rate of 0.1% and have a duration of 25 years. They will be used to deliver the same social and affordable tenures and strategic priorities as funding under the Social and Affordable Homes Programme.
[2] As set out in a Written Ministerial Statement in January 2026, the loans will be made available to registered providers of social housing and will be administered by the GLA in London. Further details on the operation and delivery of the loans will be announced by MHCLG and GLA in due course.
[3] The Mayor’s housebuilding achievements in London since 2016:
[4] Last year (October 2025), the Mayor and Housing Secretary Steve Reed announced that tens of thousands of Londoners are set to benefit from emergency measures to significantly ramp up housebuilding, unlock stalled sites and ensure more affordable homes are being built across the capital. Read more: https://www.gov.uk/government/news/new-measures-announced-to-ramp-up-housebuilding-in-london.
[5] Mayor’s Social and Affordable Homes Programme (AHP):
The Mayor has secured up to £11.7 billion in government investment to deliver the London Social and Affordable Homes Programme, which runs from this year to 2036.
The programme will support the delivery of thousands of new social and affordable homes across London, with the overall housing target for the programme to be confirmed after the initial bidding round in February 2026.
Funding is available to deliver projects that can start on site by March 2036 and complete by March 2039.
More information: https://www.london.gov.uk/programmes-strategies/housing-and-land/housing-and-land-funding-programmes/london-social-and-affordable-homes-programme-2026-36.
