Boris Johnson, Mayor of London, has announced a massive building programme of 'prefabs', the post-war temporary housing solution, to allieviate London's chronic housing shortage.
The prefabs are already built and are sitting on a site outside Peterborough. 1,000 instant homes per week will be erected starting next week on Hampstead Heath, Kew Gardens and Richmond Park, with more on any open land within the capital. Rents will be from £50 per week.
It is believed that "brown-field" sites are not being used due to the cost of cleaning up industrial waste.
Johnson has never hidden his scorn for open areas in London, calling some of the biggest parks "dog toilets" last year. The rolling programme he is implementing will add about 38,000 homes by the end of the year, potentially providing shelter for 100,000 people.
"These are people who could not afford or are unable to obtain a council house, or get on the bottom rung of the property ladder. It will also help people whose homes have been repossesed", said Johnson.
"More than 1 million people could be housed in Hyde Park alone", he added.
