The mayor of London has suggested Richmond is failing to build enough affordable homes.

Sadiq Khan published a name and shame list this week identifying a number of boroughs, including Richmond, which built very few affordable homes last year.

It led to accusations on the BBC that some boroughs are 'failing to pull their weight' in terms of tackling the capital's housing crisis with some being 'too snobby' to support building more affordable homes.

Figures produced by the mayor and Greater London Authority identified five London boroughs that had each built fewer than 100 affordable homes in the 2022-23 financial year.

The figures suggest Richmond had the second worst record in the capital. The number of affordable homes built in Redbridge was just 23, with 38 in Richmond, 40 in Kingston, 46 in Merton and 92 in Sutton.

Many young adults are priced out of living in Richmond borough with the median house sale price more than 20 times the typical salary. The disparity means there has been a steep increase in the number of young adults living at home with their parents.

At the same time, couples keen to start a family are being forced to move out of the area they were raised in, leading to a fall in the birth rate, while essential workers, such as nurses, police officers, fire fighters, postal workers, bin men and others cannot afford to live here.

A number of major housing schemes, which include hundreds of affordable homes, are planned in the borough, however they could take several years to navigate the planning process.

These include the Mortlake Brewery scheme, which will have over 1,000 homes, the former Homebase, in north Sheen, Barnes Hospital, Twickenham Riverside, the former Greggs bakery in Twickenham and Kew Retail Park.

Richmond Council's spokesperson on housing, Cllr Jim Millard, defended the borough's record, saying: "In 2018, Richmond Council's new administration set out that genuinely affordable housing was a central priority and committed to delivering 1,000 new homes.

"Of course we'd love to have caused housing to spring up straightaway, but that's not how it works - it's a long process.

"We do now have a pipeline of up to 1,000 affordable homes, delivered by developers and our housing associations, with around 500 due to break-ground in the next five years.

"We have also beefed up our Local Plan, which makes it clear that if developers want to deliver private schemes, they are expected to deliver a significant amount of affordable housing."

Sadiq Kahn has claimed success in terms of hitting his own affordable housebuilding targets - although this is disputed - but he said much more needs to be done to prevent London becoming so expensive that it is only a playground for the rich.

Former Homebase to be developed with over 400 homes

At the same time, he is coming under pressure from political opponents to turn the screw on boroughs that do not appear to doing enough to build affordable homes.

The mayor said that some 116,000 affordable homes have been built across the capital over the past seven years, which is equivalent to a city the size of Plymouth.

Despite the most challenging economic headwinds in decades, a record-breaking 25,658 affordable homes were started in London last year, up from 18,840 in 2021/22.

Ealing and Greenwich led the way in 2022-23, with each borough seeing more than 2,000 affordable homes started by either the council or housing associations. This compares to the 38 in Richmond.

Looking ahead, research by City Hall and Savills published in December 2022 found that London needs £4.9bn a year between 2023-24 and 2027-28 to deliver another 130,000 affordable homes. And the mayor suggested that he will use his planning powers to boost the number of affordable homes to be built as part of any major new housing scheme, such as those planned in Richmond borough.

Speaking this week, the Mayor said: "London's housing crisis is clearly a brake on growth and a barrier to Londoners fulfilling their potential. And fixing it is key to safeguarding the soul of our city.

"The housing crisis is turbo-charging inequalities in wealth, health and happiness. It's making our city less meritocratic and more divided. As Mayor, I don't want to see London become a playground for the rich – I'm determined to build a London for everyone."