Additional London Plan Guidance issued
The GLA has issued two more pieces of London Plan Guidance for Councils to apply in support of the implementation of London Plan Policies H15 and SI6 which are at the following links:-
Purpose-built Student Accommodation and Digital Connectivity Infrastructure
Chief Planner’s newsletter to LPAs November 2024
Joanna Averley, the DHCLG Chief Planner, has issued another newsletter to local authorities. It covers new regulations arising from the Levelling Up and Regeneration Act 2023 relating to Compulsory Purchase that allow ‘hope value’ to be removed from the assessment of compulsory purchase compensation. It announces interim planning guidance on how to consider the targets of the Environment Act 2021 for fine particulate matter (PM 2.5) in planning decisions. Also, an interactive tool Local Authority Climate Service (LACS) is introduced to provide insights into the weather and climate hazards that may affect an area.
High streets to be revitalised with new legal powers
High Street Rental Auctions (HSRAs) have been announced by the Government. They will give businesses and community groups a ‘right to rent’ long-neglected town-centre commercial properties. HSRAs will allow local Councils to tackle persistently vacant properties by putting the leases up for auction after the powers come into force on 2nd December 2024.
A description of the process has been published by the legal firm Dentons.
Civic and community groups should ascertain how their local authority intends to apply the HSRA process.
TfL fares to be increased
Rt Hon Louise Haigh MP, Secretary of State for Transport has written to Sadiq Khan about Transport for London’s Spending Review Phase 1 Outcome FY25/26. The minister requires that “TfL rail fares will rise in line with national rail fares this year”, an imposed hike around 4.6 per cent from 2 March 2025. The Mayor had already indicated that his TfL fares freeze was unlikely to continue but this increase is significant. The letter also says that government representation on TfL’s board will continue.… Read more...
Compulsory purchase guidance
On 3 October 2024 the Government introduced guidance and a factsheet as here for the removal of ‘hope value’ from the assessment of compensation when an LPA carries out compulsory purchase.
Societies could discuss with their Council if this guidance will help with land assembly for development.
Only 5% of PRS listings affordable to low income households
Research as here on behalf of London Councils has shown that people on Local Housing Allowance cannot afford 95% of private rental homes in London.
Related to that, new analysis reveals that London boroughs collectively spent £1.6 billion on homelessness in the 2023-24 financial year, with £4 million a day allocated to temporary accommodation.
Solving the Housing Affordability Crisis
The government-commissioned report “The demand for housing as an investment: Drivers, outcomes and policy interventions to enhance housing affordability in the UK” written by Professor Josh Ryan-Collins of UCL’s Institute for Innovation and Public Purpose (IIPP), calls for major reforms to the UK’s housing market to curb speculative investment demand and make homes more affordable.
Angela Rayner sets housing target for London
Rt Hon Angela Rayner MP, Deputy Prime Minister, has written to Mayor Sadiq Khan to set an annual housing target of 81,000 for London.
The GLA is required to produce an updated London Plan to achieve that and the Mayor is warned that “output in the capital will have to increase markedly from the current average of 37,200 homes per year.”
Chief Planner’s newsletter to LPAs September 2024
Joanna Averley, the DHCLG Chief Planner, has issued another newsletter to local authorities with updates on Government announcements, planning practice and policy. It covers transitional arrangements for Local Plans, a New Homes Accelerator to focus on selected large-scale housing developments that are encountering significant delays, Historic England’s Advice on Adapting Historic Buildings for Energy and Carbon Efficiency, methods for achieving biodiversity net gain requirements and advice on using design codes.
Announcement on Local Government finance
London Councils chief executive Alison Griffin has welcomed the announcement by local government minister Jim McMahon of a review to identify government reforms that could better support councils, to be led by London Councils former chair, Georgia Gould, the MP for Queen’s Park and Maida Vale and Parliamentary Secretary at the Cabinet Office who issued a statement on the subject here.
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