The Old War Office pictured above

• WESTMINISTER Council’s recent decision to allow the Old War Office to be converted into a luxury hotel with next to no affordable housing is a disgrace (West End Extra, February 17).

The development, worth up to £1billion, should have led to an investment of £40million in affordable housing.

But the city council bowed down to the developers, and said that they could spend a quarter of that amount – just £10million. Westminster’s residents deserve a better deal.

The cost of rent is sky-rocketing and more and more people are being pushed out of the borough. It’s not on and needs to stop. Many of those being pushed out of Westminster are people in the private rented sector.

Year on year they spend more on rent. But paying more doesn’t mean getting a better deal and many people have to put up with bad conditions.

That’s why alongside West End Labour colleagues we’ve released a five-point plan for private renters. One of our key plans is to lobby the council to work to implement Sadiq Khan’s London Living Rent proposal, to set at a price people can genuinely afford not something dictated by the market. Readers of the West End Extra may want to read our plan and give their feedback.

They can do that by looking up @pancho_lewis on Twitter.

PANCHO LEWIS
Address supplied