Space is London’s most contested resource. The capital needs more homes, jobs, industrial land and affordable workspace, while also protecting the places that support everyday life, from parks and community facilities to cultural venues and high streets.

What’s the role of the London Plan?

The London Plan acts as the capital’s spatial development strategy, written by the GLA and implemented across the boroughs through their local plans. It’s one of the most significant devolved powers, shaping how London grows and develops over the coming decades.

This latest version is more ambitious, and more streamlined, than the 2021 Plan. It’s growth-orientated, more confident about where London should grow and how different places should be used and clearly focused on housing delivery.

Centre for London has provided a response to the plan in full, supporting the level of ambition shown, while arguing that it remains incomplete as a framework for delivery.

We strongly support:

• The renewed use of minimum densities
• The priority given to brownfield growth
• The Small Sites Design Guide
• A more ambitious role for town centres and economic clusters
• Open recognition of London’s polycentric economy and growth opportunities
• And the qualified release of suitable Green Belt Land

However, there are several areas where greater clarity is needed, alongside a stronger link to policy which will deliver these aims.

From identifying growth, to delivering it

The draft plan identifies key areas where London should grow but needs to explain how that growth will be delivered in practice.

Major barriers remain, including viability challenges, fragmented land ownership, infrastructure constraints, utilities capacity, development finance and public-sector delivery capacity.

The final plan needs to connect its growth ambitions to overcome these barriers, without viewing them limit to development for the next generation. That means linking out to infrastructure investment, leadership arrangements for spatial areas, effective approaches to land assembly and better coordination across London’s institutions.

Distinguishing housing need from housing capacity

How housing targets are calculated remains a long-running debate. The draft London Plan’s target sits at just under 56,000 homes a year, compared with national estimates that London needs around 85,000-88,000 new homes annually.

The proposed target reflects what may be deliverable under current market conditions, but it should not be mistaken for the level of housebuilding required to meet housing need. Our response argues that while viability should shape how policy is implemented, it should not determine the limit of London’s long-term ambition.

The answer is a planning framework that is proportionate, predictable and spatially sensitive, supported by wider reforms to grant funding, borrowing powers and infrastructure investment.

How do we measure the success of replacement spaces during redevelopment?

Currently, the draft Plan places too much emphasis on floorspace as the sole condition of replacement when redeveloping homes, workplaces, industrial capacity and community facilities.

Floorspace is an important measure, but on its own it cannot determine whether a replacement space serves the same purpose as the one it replaces.

Location, affordability, tenure and the length of occupation all shape whether a home, workplace, industrial site or community facility genuinely meets the needs of the people who currently use it.

The final Plan should place greater emphasis on the quality and function of replacement provision, rather than relying on floorspace alone.

Our conclusion

Centre for London supports the direction of the draft London Plan. It provides a strong strategy for accommodating future growth and takes a more ambitious approach to housing.

The next challenge is implementation. The final version should match strategic ambition with the institutional, financial and regulatory capacity required to deliver it – to move towards a framework for delivery.

Ultimately, success should be measured by outcomes for Londoners – whether the planning system delivers the homes the capital needs, supports inclusive economic growth and creates places where people want to live, work and spend time.