London mayor Boris Johnson’s deputy has expressed doubt over the mayor’s target of building 50,000 affordable homes in the capital by 2011, because of the economic climate. Sir Simon Milton, deputy mayor for policy and planning, said : “If you look outside you’ll see the cranes have disappeared. There is very little housing being built in London.” Milton also said that it “would be foolish” to guarantee any target in the current conditions, and that it was hard to determine whether the 50,000 target could be reached. The mayor announced that he had identified which London boroughs would deliver three-quarters of the 50,000 target, having reached a “provisional agreement” with 14 London boroughs to deliver more than 16,750 homes. <br>