News Archives | London Forum

West London Regional Park

London Forum — Thu, 18 Jun 2026 10:00:59 +0000

The West London Regional Park has been proposed to combine green areas and water routes to promote climate resilience and economic development.

Ealing and Hounslow Councils, Canal and River Trust, The National Trust, Environment Agency and the Mayor are developing this legacy landscape of green spaces. The project is supported by the West London and Park Royal Business Group led by Andrew Dakers.

The details on their website highlight the extent of existing green spaces and waterways and will be updated as the project evolves.

Local Audit Reform

London Forum — Wed, 17 Jun 2026 10:00:55 +0000

In December 2025 a policy paper on Local Audit Reform was published following a significant backlog of outstanding unaudited local authority accounts. The English Devolution and Community Empowerment Bill established the Local Audit Office (LAO) to oversee and improve the system requiring local public bodies to publish independently audited accounts on time annually.

Bill Butler has been announced as preferred candidate for chair of the Local Audit Office, subject to a Parliamentary hearing.

A new consultation on preventing financial mismanagement in local government runs from May 28 to August 6.

How to petition Parliament

London Forum — Fri, 12 Jun 2026 10:00:43 +0000

There has been a relaunch of Parliament’s e-petitions website, with a refreshed design and improved functionality to make it easier to find, sign and start petitions. The updated site includes improved accessibility, and enhanced search tools. The changes follow user feedback and aim to provide a smoother experience. Petitions are one way the public can raise issues with the UK Government and Parliament. Petitions that receive 10,000 signatures receive a Government response, and those that reach 100,000 are considered for debate by the Petitions Committee.

HS2 Reset

London Forum — Wed, 10 Jun 2026 19:00:21 +0000

The High Speed 2 railway has had numerous resets yet it clings on to its existence albeit in a truncated form. The latest announcement by the Secretary of State for Transport followed the publication of the Lovegrove report into what went wrong, and some interim recommendations from the on-going review of how the project should be reset that is being conducted by HS2’s CEO, Mark Wild. The Lovegrove report is useful because it finally nails the claim repeated over may years by politicians and many of those directly involved in the HS2 project, that its core aim is to increase railway capacity.… Read more...

What are BIDs doing for Town Centres in Central and Outer London?

London Forum — Wed, 10 Jun 2026 17:30:05 +0000

Earlier this year, London Forum organised a very interesting open meeting with members about the state of London’s High Streets and the night-time economy. One of the presenters was from a BID (Business Improvement District), highlighting their work in improving business areas in central London. That raised a question, what are BIDs doing in outer London?

Once a BID has been voted in by local businesses it is funded by a supplement to the business rates paid in the area.… Read more...

Old Kent Road development – update

London Forum — Wed, 10 Jun 2026 10:00:48 +0000

Urban Design London has issued another video on what is happening in the Old Kent Road Opportunity Area.

An update on 13th May 2026 had links to earlier videos.

In the latest one, Colin Wilson reflects on the challenges – and successes – of adding cycle lanes and a district heat network during an estate regeneration, with the additional complication and benefit of uncovering the Roman road that sits underneath the Old Kent Road.

High Value Council Tax Surcharge

London Forum — Sat, 06 Jun 2026 10:00:03 +0000

There is a consultation ending on 14th July 2026 on a proposed High Value Council Tax Surcharge (HVCTS) on owners of homes for each £500,000 of value above £2 million.

The Forum will respond to the consultation and we urge members to send to chair@londonforum.org.uk any comments or suggestions on points London Forum ought to make by 26 June 2026.

There are four questions in the main part of the consultation to which responses can be submitted by societies, which we urge you to do, through the online survey or by emailing responses to the questions to hvcts@communities.gov.uk… Read more...

Crystal Palace National Sports Centre Redevelopment

London Forum — Thu, 04 Jun 2026 10:44:15 +0000

The GLA’s redevelopment of the Crystal Palace National Sports Centre will cut carbon emissions by 90% and eliminate fossil fuels through a £23m investment in efficiency and heat pumps. While the project sits in Bromley, it follows the GLA’s climate-focused policies rather than Bromley Council’s, which largely ignores carbon reduction and has yet to declare a climate emergency.

As Bromley consults on its local plan this summer, the public is urged to use the GLA project as a benchmark.… Read more...