Chief Planner’s update
On 24th November 2025 Joanna Averley, the MHCLG Chief Planner, issued an update letter to planners in local authorities on speeding up development within walking distance of well-connected train and tram stations. See related Forum update of 26th November.
The update covered many other changes including Local Plans; LPA skills and resources; a new call-in when councils are likely to decline applications for 150 homes or more; removing the requirement for public inquiries for called-in applications; reducing statutory consultation and removing Sport England, The Gardens Trust and Theatres Trust from the list of consultees. The latter was in the Forum update of 19th November.
All Tags
Business Rates relief
Contesting land or property
Household Projections and Housing Targets
The latest projections from the Office of National Statistics (ONS) show that between 2022 and 2032, the number of households in England is expected to grow from 23.5 million to 25.9 million, [more…]
Most Popular This Week
-
Densifying the suburbs
📆 Thu 29th January | 18:30 - 20:30
🚩 77 Cowcross Street, EC1M 6EL (map)
The next London Plan, with its much higher housing targets, will increase the pressure for higher densities in the suburbs. It could guide high-density housing / mixed-use development to high accessibility locations. The shape of the new strategy will be a key issue for the new London Plan. We’ll discuss these and related issues at this Open Meeting on 29th January – please book here ( https://www.londonforum.org.uk/events/densifying-the-suburbs/?occurrence=2026-01-29#booking ) Issues What is the vision? What should the strategy be? (Speaker: Prof. Tony Travers), and What would be needed to…
-
Member Services Committee meeting
📅 Thu 5th February | 14:00 - 16:00
🚩 Room B1 70 Cowcross St, EC1M 6EJ (map)
-
Planning, Environment and Transport committee meeting
📅 Thu 12th February | 14:00 - 16:00
🚩 Room B1 70 Cowcross St, EC1M 6EJ (map)