Insights Archives | London Forum

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...

Planning for Telecoms Masts

London Forum — Wed, 27 May 2026 12:55:53 +0000

Most of us now carry smart phones around with us all the time: they have become an essential part of modern life. For most of the time when we are out and about, using our phones depends on signals from telecoms masts. Since the first dozen masts were erected by Vodafone in 1985 to cover London and the M4 corridor, they have become ubiquitous across the country. In London alone there are estimated to be some 7,000 of the monopole masts we see on streets and the tops of buildings.… Read more...

Architects should rejoice that Britain’s latest new towns aren’t new towns at all

London Forum — Wed, 13 May 2026 10:30:46 +0000

By Ben Derbyshire, chair at HTA Design, former RIBA president, and President of the London Forum.

Ben Derbyshire

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Chair of HTA Design

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I don’t generally play for laughs, but I got one anyway at Design West’s Arnolfini conference on Labour’s then-new housing plans when I urged the audience not to hold their breath waiting for the twelve promised new towns. We still haven’t finished the ones Richard Crossman began in the 1960s. As it turns out, we needn’t have worried because of the seven finally announced, all but one are not new towns at all, but much more sensible urban extensions.… Read more...

Densifying the Suburbs – A presenter’s Insight

London Forum — Tue, 10 Mar 2026 13:30:08 +0000

Our President, Ben Derbyshire, provides his Insights into our recent Densifying the Suburbs event.

Ben Derbyshire

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Chair of HTA Design

I welcomed the invitation to speak at an open meeting of the Forum, ‘Densifying the Suburbs’ alongside Professor Tony Travers of UCL and local planners, Paul Lewin and Justin Carr from Waltham Forest and Brent councils respectively. My challenge – most people who have time to participate in their local civic societies will already be well housed, so what, I asked, should be our collective response to fellow citizens who are not?… Read more...

The rise and fall of bus passenger numbers in London

London Forum — Wed, 18 Feb 2026 10:30:52 +0000

Bus passenger numbers in London reached a peak of 2.4 billion in 2014, but since then have fallen to 1.8 billion in 2025. This decline is now exercising the Mayor and GLA Transport Committee, but it is not a new phenomenon. From 1958 to the early 1980s there was steady decline in bus usage. In the ten years to December 1969 the scheduled fleet fell from 7756 to 6900, if Country buses and Green Line services are included.… Read more...

Statutory Consultees

London Forum — Tue, 13 Jan 2026 14:11:09 +0000

Statutory consultees play an important role in the planning application process by providing expert advice on significant environmental, transport, safety, and heritage issues. There are currently 13 organisations that local planning authorities (LPAs) must consult about specialist issues when they receive relevant planning applications, from the Environment Agency and National Highways to Historic England.

Their role is very important, but there is widespread agreement that the system is not working well, causing needless duplication of effort and delays in making decisions.… Read more...

Household Projections and Housing Targets

London Forum — Wed, 03 Dec 2025 15:00:50 +0000

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, an increase of 10.3%. That is equivalent to an average of 242,000 additional households per year. Nearly two-thirds of that increase will come from households headed by someone over 65 years old. Rates of increase will be much lower for households headed by someone under retirement age.… Read more...