:00:08. > :00:14.A special on the soaring cost of housing tonight. With house prices
:00:15. > :00:18.and rents at record highs, the shortage of homes that Londoners can
:00:19. > :00:23.afford is at real crisis. I think this generation is going to
:00:24. > :00:27.struggle. Houses are only worth what people will pay for them. It is
:00:28. > :00:32.ridiculous, nobody can afford a house in this area. The night we are
:00:33. > :00:36.looking for solutions and we have invited along some very opinionated
:00:37. > :00:42.Londoners to help us. The rest of the day 's news: Failed by mental
:00:43. > :00:45.health services, a coroners verdict on the violinist who died one week
:00:46. > :00:50.after giving evidence at a sex abuse trial. And we celebrate our
:00:51. > :01:06.athletes, in enjoying success at the Commonwealth Games.
:01:07. > :01:13.A very warm welcome from BBC London News, live at King's Cross. This is
:01:14. > :01:17.an area that is really being transformed, once it was down at
:01:18. > :01:21.heel, now, hundreds of new homes are being built alongside shops and
:01:22. > :01:25.offices, to create a buzzing new neighbourhood. This shows the scale
:01:26. > :01:30.of the development, city seven acre site, one of the largest of elements
:01:31. > :01:34.in Europe, and like across the capital, new homes are in high
:01:35. > :01:35.demand. Because, as all Londoners know, property has become a hot
:01:36. > :01:44.issue. In London the cost of renting is
:01:45. > :01:51.rising, it has gone up 9.4% since last year, the average price, ?1200
:01:52. > :01:55.every month. Charlie is a performer, a tutor and a waiter, anything to
:01:56. > :02:01.pay his way, he still sometimes lives at home at the age of 30. Five
:02:02. > :02:05.years ago, I had to live here. I have got to a stage where I can
:02:06. > :02:10.afford my rent a little bit, not always, and I do still struggle...
:02:11. > :02:18.Charlie is one of those better off, cosy parental home, the real problem
:02:19. > :02:21.lies with families who rent. There are Londoners who are cheesed off
:02:22. > :02:24.with the situation, high rents, short contract, they live like
:02:25. > :02:29.teenagers in their childhood bedrooms. The biggest barrier is
:02:30. > :02:32.house prices, they have gone up at least 20% here in the last year
:02:33. > :02:36.alone, there are warnings of a cooling in the market but that means
:02:37. > :02:47.prices are not rising as fast as they used to. I think it is terrible
:02:48. > :02:51.for the younger generation. Unless you have a massive deposit thanks to
:02:52. > :02:56.parents, or some other means, then it is very hard to get onto the
:02:57. > :03:02.housing ladder. People who do not have the kind of income that allows
:03:03. > :03:09.them to buy a big house, that is difficult. Yes, I agree, it is
:03:10. > :03:14.pushing people out. If you are a first`time buyer with an average
:03:15. > :03:18.wage and an average deposit of 18%, 99.7% of London's houses are out of
:03:19. > :03:23.your price range. Add to that, the next issue, which is that of the
:03:24. > :03:27.growing population. By 2021, London will be home to more than 9 million
:03:28. > :03:35.people, the last time that London how is the same number as it does
:03:36. > :03:38.now, there was a major rethink. Sounds like Harlow and Hemel
:03:39. > :03:43.Hampstead were developed, if nothing is done today, there is a warning
:03:44. > :03:56.that the very nature of the city could change. The nature of the city
:03:57. > :04:02.is going to be changed. That brings us to the problem of creating new
:04:03. > :04:08.homes. We will need 800000 x 2021, if you bought a house in Stratford
:04:09. > :04:12.in 2005, you will have made an average of ?150,000 on your
:04:13. > :04:20.property, here, the 2012 bounce is happening, if you do want to live in
:04:21. > :04:24.the pad of an Olympian. Australia and Sweden were living here, I would
:04:25. > :04:28.see some of my opponents living here, and into the food court, I
:04:29. > :04:33.would be scoping them out, looking at any sign of weakness, looking at
:04:34. > :04:37.how they were walking and talking! In King's Cross many properties are
:04:38. > :04:44.out of the average price range, but they have agreed to have a healthy
:04:45. > :04:48.mix. Not just shared ownership and shared equity but some key worker
:04:49. > :04:52.protected as well. We have got specialist accommodation for older
:04:53. > :04:58.people. We are not building enough homes to keep up with growth, some
:04:59. > :05:00.will end up buying, more will end up renting, and the problems will begin
:05:01. > :05:09.again. We will come to house prices in a
:05:10. > :05:15.moment, we have heard about the population increase, 800,000 homes
:05:16. > :05:20.by 2021, in seven years, that is more than 100,000 a year. This is
:05:21. > :05:21.aiming to build 42,000 homes every year, that is hardly scratching the
:05:22. > :05:48.surface. The number of homes being delivered
:05:49. > :05:51.at the moment are very high, and they are quite compare to what has
:05:52. > :05:56.been delivered historically, the problem is, historically, too few
:05:57. > :06:09.homes are being built. There are structural issues which need to be
:06:10. > :06:13.addressed. You have an aim to build ultra`zoo thousand homes every year.
:06:14. > :06:17.The merits of the latest population figures, and he said, look,
:06:18. > :06:23.fundamentally, we need to be bolder and we need to set a bigger
:06:24. > :06:27.target... You are not going to meet that target... It is a collective
:06:28. > :06:30.effort, it is very honest, collective effort of national
:06:31. > :06:33.government, local government, Merrill government and the industry.
:06:34. > :06:41.Unless we come together and do that it is going to be difficult to
:06:42. > :06:45.tackle it. `` mayoral government. We heard about the Royal Victoria
:06:46. > :06:49.docks, the mayor of new is outrage there is not enough for affordable
:06:50. > :06:54.homes. The Mount Pleasant site, the mayor has called it in and he is
:06:55. > :06:59.considering for the developer do have homes. It is more like 50%
:07:00. > :07:03.according to the local developer. The mayor pushes very hard for
:07:04. > :07:06.affordable houses, he has taken new powers and as a result this year you
:07:07. > :07:11.will see more homes, more affordable homes built on any point since 1980.
:07:12. > :07:15.It is not just affordable housing, it is improving the rented sector,
:07:16. > :07:20.it is helping people buy part paths rent. Something I really want to do
:07:21. > :07:23.is take you out, get out of the marketing suite and visit a whole
:07:24. > :07:27.load of amazing schemes... What people want is not to have a whole
:07:28. > :07:33.group of young people living and working here, who do not qualify for
:07:34. > :07:36.housing support, you may be living with parents, and who cannot afford
:07:37. > :07:40.to have property here. You do not want that to be the legacy, Boris
:07:41. > :07:41.Johnson does not want that to be his legacy.
:07:42. > :07:46.Johnson does not want that to be his . Boris was very clear about is that
:07:47. > :07:49.has been the issue, and being honest, and being bold, and
:07:50. > :07:54.identifying it and saying it needs addressing, collectively, not just
:07:55. > :07:58.the mayor about everyone. There is a breeding thing that I can show you,
:07:59. > :08:03.when you take up my offer to go out, pocket homes, some of the smallest
:08:04. > :08:08.developments... Just for the people you have been talking about. Housing
:08:09. > :08:11.is a huge challenge, and all this week we have been floating some more
:08:12. > :08:15.radical ideas, and you have been getting in touch with your opinions.
:08:16. > :08:22.The first of our ideas to ease the housing shortage came from Sam, from
:08:23. > :08:27.the Adam Smith Institute. His controversial suggestion was to
:08:28. > :08:29.build homes on the green belt. Not surprisingly, a lot of you got in
:08:30. > :08:38.touch. The green belt and the countryside
:08:39. > :08:41.matters to all of us, we need it for clean air.
:08:42. > :08:46.We need it as flood protection, the land acts as a sponge. We needed for
:08:47. > :09:05.food security. In style model where renting is the
:09:06. > :09:10.norm and leases are much lawn, but one landlord got in touch to feel
:09:11. > :09:14.she doesn't `` to say she doesn't feel her rights are protected. If
:09:15. > :09:19.people could feel sure they can get people out right away who are not
:09:20. > :09:25.good tenants or who won't pay, all sorts of things like that, there
:09:26. > :09:31.would be much more rented property on the market and better landlords
:09:32. > :09:35.can. What about those plots around London not used? Journalist Dave
:09:36. > :09:39.Hill says councils should be given greater powers to force developers
:09:40. > :09:45.to build, but the home builders Federation says the problem lies in
:09:46. > :09:48.council bureaucracy. Ultimately the local authority grants developers
:09:49. > :09:53.planning permission and if that process is taking a lot of time, the
:09:54. > :09:58.blame lasts lie with the local authority. Social housing expert
:09:59. > :10:03.Lord Best suggested older people should downsize to allow families
:10:04. > :10:21.access to bigger homes. There was an enormous response.
:10:22. > :10:27.That's just a glimpse at some of the feedback we've been getting from our
:10:28. > :10:32.housing series. Lots of difficult questions, no easy answers. Thanks
:10:33. > :10:38.for getting in touch. Thanks indeed forgetting in touch.
:10:39. > :10:44.Deputy Mayor for housing is still with us and we are joined by
:10:45. > :10:51.Baroness Valentine and Owen Jones, columnist at the Guardian. Baroness
:10:52. > :10:55.Valentine, if we are in danger of losing or not attracting key workers
:10:56. > :11:00.to the capital, it's unpopular, as we heard, but do you think building
:11:01. > :11:05.of the green belt should be considered? Well, there's no simple
:11:06. > :11:11.solution to building the numbers of houses we need. You have to do lots
:11:12. > :11:15.of things and the main thing is probably incentivising the local
:11:16. > :11:22.authorities to feel more empowered to build and for the May to step in
:11:23. > :11:26.if they won't build. So don't build on green belt land? A lot of viewers
:11:27. > :11:31.are against that. They say you mustn't build on green belt. The
:11:32. > :11:38.trouble is the size of the problem. There are no nice solutions. There
:11:39. > :11:43.is some green belt land which is actually just rubbish land. One has
:11:44. > :11:48.to get beneath the surface of what's called green belt land and look at
:11:49. > :12:00.what it is. We would be very keen on the Maher having a look at the green
:12:01. > :12:06.belt around London. It is in parks. We heard the German model. Have they
:12:07. > :12:10.got it right? What about the idea of changing the rental market, longer
:12:11. > :12:17.tenancies and caps on increases? That works pretty well in Berlin. At
:12:18. > :12:21.the moment, we have a situation where one in four Londoners are
:12:22. > :12:24.receiving housing benefit. The majority of people in work and we
:12:25. > :12:29.are subsidising private landlords, effectively. We should be
:12:30. > :12:33.controlling rents and having secured tenancy agreements. Another problem
:12:34. > :12:38.is the number of families in the private rented sector has doubled in
:12:39. > :12:43.five years. How can you have a family with security if your kids
:12:44. > :12:54.are moved from school to cool ` school to school? As well as
:12:55. > :12:56.controlling rents, a good deal for the taxpayer, reduce housing
:12:57. > :12:59.benefits, and increase securities for families. What we have to do is
:13:00. > :13:04.get people investing in housing. If you start capping their returns, you
:13:05. > :13:08.are driving out investors. Richard? Rents have gone up more in Berlin
:13:09. > :13:13.than in London in five years. The problem with rent controls is they
:13:14. > :13:17.can lead to an increase in rents and they can also lead to a real
:13:18. > :13:23.deterioration in the quality of homes. We did have rent controls in
:13:24. > :13:27.this country. It's right to say there are changes needed in the
:13:28. > :13:34.rented sector and one thing we need to do is attract pension fund money
:13:35. > :13:38.to build purpose`built homes. Lots of people have been in touch about
:13:39. > :13:45.stopping people buying second homes, properties left empty. We've
:13:46. > :13:49.got local councils that aren't even using their empty house tax,
:13:50. > :13:54.charging 50% extra council tax for people who leave their homes empty
:13:55. > :14:00.for two years or more, why don't you enforce that? We don't have the
:14:01. > :14:03.power to do that. They have the powers to use it. We've written to
:14:04. > :14:09.them to say they should charge council tax if the properties are
:14:10. > :14:16.empty. But it is 0.6% of the housing stock London has. We shouldn't kid
:14:17. > :14:19.ourselves. We need new homes. 66,000 empty homes in London and local
:14:20. > :14:24.authorities have the power to take them under control if they are left
:14:25. > :14:30.in that hasn't been enforced properly. Missing from this is the
:14:31. > :14:35.key role of council housing. What happened is we have 5 million people
:14:36. > :14:39.on the social housing waiting list because successive governments
:14:40. > :14:46.failed to replace the stock sold off in the 1980s. That means lifting the
:14:47. > :14:49.cap on councils. That means Boris Johnson has proposed it, having
:14:50. > :14:56.accountancy rules like Western European countries. Let me put that
:14:57. > :15:00.to Baroness Valentine. Would you be in favour of the cap being lifted so
:15:01. > :15:06.they could build more? Absolutely. When you look at this 30 year
:15:07. > :15:09.picture you can see the falloff in house`building at the point the
:15:10. > :15:14.local authorities stopped building. In a careful way, not runaway
:15:15. > :15:19.councils like we've had in the past, but yes, absolutely. Do they
:15:20. > :15:24.have the skills and ambition to build these numbers? They have to
:15:25. > :15:29.have a lot more financial incentive and a lot more encouragement. Only
:15:30. > :15:35.four borough is built over 1000 houses last year. They are why
:15:36. > :15:36.behind their targets. Why aren't you doing more to force large companies
:15:37. > :15:40.to build on land they already own? doing more to force large companies
:15:41. > :15:46.to build on land they That was one of the questions raised. Use it or
:15:47. > :15:50.lose it or at least tax it. I'd like to pick up on the council house
:15:51. > :15:54.building. You have a consensus that this is part of the solution but not
:15:55. > :15:58.the only solution to building more homes. Over half the borrowers in
:15:59. > :16:04.London have their own house`building programme as a result of funding
:16:05. > :16:07.from the Mayor. What about those schemes under construction but
:16:08. > :16:12.aren't being built? Says a bigger problem. The bigger problem is the
:16:13. > :16:16.build`out rate. When those schemes start, the homes are delivered very
:16:17. > :16:24.slowly and that's why we need to attract new developers and new forms
:16:25. > :16:28.of finance. Can any Mayor build enough homes at the rate the capital
:16:29. > :16:35.needs, yes or no? It's not just the job of the Mayor. Yes or no? Yes
:16:36. > :16:44.with the powers. London can build them. Yes with the powers. Thank you
:16:45. > :16:48.so much to you, and for you at home for giving us your feedback and
:16:49. > :16:53.joining in the conversation. It will continue because this is a long`term
:16:54. > :16:58.issue for the capital. Now it's time to hand you over to Victoria for the
:16:59. > :17:02.rest of the day's news. A coroner has said he cannot be sure
:17:03. > :17:06.that a violinist who died of an overdose after giving evidence
:17:07. > :17:11.against a teacher who had abused her did intend to kill herself. But the
:17:12. > :17:15.coroner did criticise the failure to provide sport for Francis and Dred
:17:16. > :17:28.and other vulnerable witnesses. She took of fatal overdose last year. A
:17:29. > :17:32.sublime violinist whose life was ruined by sexual abuse. Francis
:17:33. > :17:38.Andrade was just 14 when it began in 1978 at the place she thought was
:17:39. > :17:42.home. This was her abuser, Michael Brewer, a director of the celebrated
:17:43. > :17:47.Cheatham School of music in Manchester. A renowned fixture in
:17:48. > :17:52.the world of choral recitals, honoured by the Queen. Early last
:17:53. > :17:56.year, Brewer was on trial for the abuse and Mrs Andrade was the key
:17:57. > :18:01.witness against him. But in court she was called a liar and a
:18:02. > :18:05.fantasist. Her husband said she felt she was on trial. A week later she
:18:06. > :18:11.took her own life and didn't live to see Brewer jailed for six years. The
:18:12. > :18:16.coroner said Mrs Andrade had found the whole process extremely
:18:17. > :18:20.traumatic. Which is why he made a number of recommendations to the
:18:21. > :18:24.director of proper ` Director of Public Prosecutions calling for the
:18:25. > :18:27.legal system to be much more sensitive when dealing with
:18:28. > :18:31.vulnerable witnesses like Mrs Andrade. Those calls for changing
:18:32. > :18:37.the way witnesses are handled in courts were welcomed by her husband,
:18:38. > :18:41.spoke afterwards. I think that all the services involved really looked
:18:42. > :18:46.into what went wrong and they will tighten up their measures and
:18:47. > :18:54.hopefully for the next lot of victims something will have changed
:18:55. > :18:58.for the better. Last year dozens of people came to witness this musical
:18:59. > :19:04.eulogy to Francis Andrade, a talented, sensitive violinist who
:19:05. > :19:07.had to live through abuse and then relived the excruciating pain of
:19:08. > :19:16.telling it in court. Experiences that ruined her life and underpinned
:19:17. > :19:21.her death. More claims have emerged that a
:19:22. > :19:24.cover`up took place to protect the reputations of politicians following
:19:25. > :19:28.allegations of abuse at the Angels Road children's home in south
:19:29. > :19:32.London. The care home has been at the centre of controversy since a
:19:33. > :19:37.former police detective who investigated the claims in the late
:19:38. > :19:39.1990s said he was taken off the case when it appeared high`ranking
:19:40. > :19:46.politicians were linked to the abuse. Nigel Goldy has now told the
:19:47. > :19:54.BBC about his suspicions of a cover`up. At the time, and
:19:55. > :19:58.subsequently, there was some high`level decisions about not
:19:59. > :20:05.wanting to open up issues that related to public figures. Of whom
:20:06. > :20:15.there were suggestions they had been visiting this children's home. A
:20:16. > :20:21.cover`up. It's the second day of the common run of games in Glasgow. We
:20:22. > :20:26.can get an update on the role our local athletes have played. Please
:20:27. > :20:33.welcome Ashley McKenzie and Nick Coda Davies. Celebrations and
:20:34. > :20:38.celebrity status for the two Londoners who won gold in judo last
:20:39. > :20:42.night. We said it would be really funny if the person who goes last,
:20:43. > :20:50.everyone has macro won gold, and I worked out I would be last. When you
:20:51. > :20:58.won, you pointed to your six`pack. It was meant to be my badge. The
:20:59. > :21:04.crowd are on their feet. Joanna Russell wins gold for England. This
:21:05. > :21:09.afternoon a Commonwealth Games gold model food Joanna Russell to add to
:21:10. > :21:12.those already won in the Olympics and World Championships. It's the
:21:13. > :21:17.event I was spotted forward and I first started so it means a lot to
:21:18. > :21:23.me. Fantastic to win here today. Over the moon. Essex swimmer Roberto
:21:24. > :21:28.have only qualified third fastest for this evening 's final of the 400
:21:29. > :21:32.metres individual medley. Definitely have a good chance of a medal and
:21:33. > :21:37.that's what we are aiming for. Good swimmers in there. We love the
:21:38. > :21:41.challenge. Within the next half`hour Camberley judo club's Owen Livesey
:21:42. > :21:47.will be trying to win gold in the final of the men's under 81
:21:48. > :21:51.kilograms category. No joy that Amber Hill in the shooting. She
:21:52. > :22:01.missed out on a place in the middle stages. The Corbin sisters from
:22:02. > :22:05.Tottenham did their bit to dazzle watching royal eyes as England's
:22:06. > :22:16.netball is beat Wales 65, 25 in their first match of the games. `
:22:17. > :22:22.65`25. Really good start for us. Gold galore so far for London's
:22:23. > :22:28.athletes and hopefully more to come. 50 years ago today a DJ called Tony
:22:29. > :22:34.Blackburn played his first record on radio Caroline. The year was 1964.
:22:35. > :22:39.He's not looked back. He went on to launch radio one and two night on
:22:40. > :22:41.our radio station, BBC London 94.9, he will host a special anniversary
:22:42. > :22:52.show. Artists from the 80s back at
:22:53. > :22:55.Marylebone high Street this week remembering the radio London Soul
:22:56. > :23:00.night out back in the building where it all began. Even Stevie wonder
:23:01. > :23:06.turned up once to fact Tony Blackburn, who and up with it. `
:23:07. > :23:10.came up with it. From pirate out at sea to the mainstream, there aren't
:23:11. > :23:16.many DJs still going to first spoke on the airwaves 50 years ago. One of
:23:17. > :23:21.the incredible things about Tony is 50 years in a very, very risky
:23:22. > :23:26.business, very insecure business, and he's never had a week out of
:23:27. > :23:29.work. He was the original shock jock, first illegally on the boat
:23:30. > :23:34.off the coast of Essex and then as the first voice on radio one. We
:23:35. > :23:38.were slightly separate from Broadcasting House. We were the
:23:39. > :23:44.naughty people. The others up there thought we don't want to know them,
:23:45. > :23:49.they are down there. He always played his beloveds sold music. I
:23:50. > :23:54.was amazed how little of that music was being played. I did have a say
:23:55. > :23:59.in everything I did on the breakfast show. I've always put Soul music
:24:00. > :24:05.into my programmes. He's inspired countless broadcasters ever since.
:24:06. > :24:10.Pat Sharp was his warm up act on Sundays. Over the years he helped
:24:11. > :24:15.the careers of 5`star, Jackie Graham and Jocelyn Brown to name just a few
:24:16. > :24:19.celebrating with him tonight. I grew up with that voice. When I got to
:24:20. > :24:27.meet him, it was like oh my god. He's never changed. Nor has he
:24:28. > :24:32.tired. At 71 he still works six days a week. From the BBC this evening he
:24:33. > :24:36.has a special show across all the local radio stations, starting in
:24:37. > :24:44.about 15 minutes. He is taking to the microphone again to mark his
:24:45. > :24:47.half`century in broadcasting. Tony is already getting ready for
:24:48. > :24:52.his special show this evening. You can hear it on your local radio
:24:53. > :24:55.station from 7pm. Let's get a check on the weather
:24:56. > :25:02.with Peter. We've had a few storms today. It boiled over this
:25:03. > :25:06.afternoon. Temperatures rose, but it sparked off some storms. There have
:25:07. > :25:10.been some lively ones around. Further changes over the weekend. It
:25:11. > :25:16.will turn cooler and fresher and that will be a welcome change for
:25:17. > :25:21.many, particularly overnight. The storms came into macro pulses. One
:25:22. > :25:25.lot running quite quickly across London and towards the south`west. A
:25:26. > :25:30.few problems with flash flooding. Further storms behind that. The
:25:31. > :25:34.sting is going out of those now, we aren't seeing much lightning. Still
:25:35. > :25:37.some showers to come over the next few hours, but they will fade away
:25:38. > :25:45.so by midnight pretty much everywhere will be dry. The rest of
:25:46. > :25:51.the night, a light northerly breeze. Temperatures still just as high,
:25:52. > :25:55.holding at around 16 or 17 Celsius. What about the weekend? This is how
:25:56. > :26:00.Saturday starts, with some clout. That will break up nicely through
:26:01. > :26:05.the day. We still have warm air in place so that could set off one or
:26:06. > :26:09.two showers, may lead to the east of London through the afternoon. Some
:26:10. > :26:14.of them could be heavy, perhaps across Essex. Temperatures still
:26:15. > :26:20.getting up to the high 20s. A very warm afternoon for most. Saturday
:26:21. > :26:24.evening, the showers start to move away. The wind swinging round to a
:26:25. > :26:28.north`westerly direction overnight and that will bring in some fresher
:26:29. > :26:33.weather for some day. Still lots of dry weather, the odd shower drifting
:26:34. > :26:37.away towards the North East, but most places will stay dry with sunny
:26:38. > :26:44.spells. In the sunshine, temperatures are lower, but 23 to 25
:26:45. > :26:47.is a really nice day. We will keep that slightly cooler weather going
:26:48. > :26:53.into the early part of next week, but don't give up on summer.
:26:54. > :27:01.A reminder of the headlines. The UK economy is now bigger than it
:27:02. > :27:07.was before the financial crisis in 2008. It grew by 0.8% in the second
:27:08. > :27:11.quarter of this year. The Chancellor has welcomed the news but warned
:27:12. > :27:15.against complacency. Efforts to secure a cease`fire
:27:16. > :27:20.between Israel and Hamas have intensified as a number of dead
:27:21. > :27:23.continues to rise. More than 800 Palestinians and 36 Israelis have
:27:24. > :27:28.now been killed. The mother of three`year`old Mikhail
:27:29. > :27:34.pula has pleaded guilty to killing her son in Edinburgh in January. She
:27:35. > :27:38.admitted repeatedly beating her son and hiding his body in woodland.
:27:39. > :27:44.That's it. I'll be back later with our next news at 10:25pm. From all
:27:45. > :27:50.of us, have a lovely weekend. Goodbye.
:27:51. > :27:55.Use the BBC Weather App to stay one step ahead of the weather.