Antonia Jennings, CEO at Centre for London, comments on Centre for London’s response to the draft London Plan 2026:
“Space is London’s most contested resource. The London Plan is the defining tool to ensure we’re using our land effectively.”
“Everyone is competing for space in the capital. We need to build tens of thousands of homes every year. Our economic growth strategy is reliant on retaining and transforming our industrial land. Business and communities alike need workspaces from high-end offices to affordable, flexible premises. And that’s just the start. Factor in transport, hospitals, schools, gardens, community spaces, libraries, and the demands on London’s land keep growing.
It’s reassuring to see the Mayor recognise all these competing priorities into a single, streamlined document – a plan that’s spatially confident, growth-orientated and clearly focused on housing delivery.
Our consultation response does call for some changes and clarifications. We need to see stronger safeguards around industrial land – once that land is gone, it’s rarely recovered. The revised housing target is another big question. It’s been reduced to reflect what can be feasibly delivered today, but this isn’t the level of delivery required to meet London’s housing need. Estimates suggest London would need to build between 85,000 and 88,000 new homes a year to meet housing demand in the capital. The plans target is 55,800 homes annually. The longer-term work to close this gap is an example of where further refinement and clarification is needed.
The biggest test of the London Plan will be delivery.
Centre for London supports the draft Plan’s ambitious direction, but it remains incomplete if we want to move from a spatial plan to a framework for delivery. We need to match the strategic vision with a credible delivery strategy, linking the London Plan clearly to the wider policy and funding decisions needed to make it happen. Ultimately, success should be measured against outcomes that show the Plan is working for all corners of the London: homes built, businesses supported and places thriving across the capital.”