Weekend Property Update: Conversion call

SOME 200,000 extra homes could be created in London by converting houses into flats, which would give first-time buyers a better chance of getting on to the housing ladder, says the Minister for Housing, Sir George Young.

Conversions created an estimated 120,000 homes in the 1980s, according to a government-funded study by the London Research Centre, the first reliable and comprehensive report on this area (HMSO, pounds 14). This meant a net gain of 80,000 homes. A total gain of more than 725,000 is possible, mainly outside central London, but planners often restrict conversions to preserve family homes and restrict parking.