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.

Issues

• What is the vision? What should the strategy be? (Speaker: Prof. Tony Travers), and 
• What would be needed to increase the density of the London suburbs?  (Speaker: Ben Derbyshire)

How much should we focus on accessible locations – around stations and town centres?

We invited representatives of London Boroughs plus others to explain their experience of delivering higher densities, after which there was a panel discussion/Q&A session.

Panel members with case studies included:

• Justin Carr: Waltham Forest
• Paul Lewin: Brent
• Heather Cheesbrough: examples from Croydon and elsewhere

Meeting Report

The purpose of the event was to explore/unpack the options for increasing housing densities in London’s suburbs; distinguish between an incremental approach and the major change in scale and character that has been common in Opportunity Areas.

Presentations

Tony Travers presentation
click image to view the pdf slides

Professor Tony Travers set the history of density policies, explaining how the word density was associated with overcrowding and poverty in the 19th century. How in the early 20th century, much of the concern was about sprawl as London continued to expand outwards. For 40 years after World War 2, London’s population was falling, so there was little pressure for denser housing.

Outer boroughs and new densities

Since the 1990s, 2.5m more people are living in London, 1m housed in the existing housing stock and 1m in new. To house further expected growth, there is an urgent need to plan for higher densities in the suburbs as well as in the city centre.

Ben Derbyshire, President of London Forum, drew on his architectural perspective to illustrate the contrast between managed densification and the tall buildings that have come to dominate in a number of opportunity areas. His challenge to the audience was that it is essential to build more homes in the suburbs and better to work constructively with planners to help it happen in a managed, thoughtful and creative way. He encouraged movement on many fronts – homes for downsizers which could liberate under-occupied family homes, co-living, re-purposing of older structures, such as older shopping centres.

Paul Lewin presentation
click image to view the pdf slides

Justin Carr and Paul Lewin spoke about their experience from the planning side in Waltham Forest and Brent respectively. Both planning authorities have been working within local policies which recognise three different types of area in their boroughs and three different approaches to densification, to suit:

• Areas of transformation/large-scale change, such as Opportunity Areas or on main roads, where tall buildings are expected
• Areas of transition (particularly those with good public transport) – gradually changing the scale (up to ten storeys in Waltham Forest) and density of an area as the opportunities arise; and
• Areas of tradition – often with low access to public transport, where limited opportunities for change exist.

Brent densification potential – ‘transitional’

The example of Brent was striking. In Brent, there is huge overcrowding south of the North Circular, and the cost of providing temporary housing for the homeless is very high. Because areas north of the North Circular have lower access to public transport the focus for housing delivery is south of the North Circular. There is pressure to build on every bit of space, and in 20 years’ time it will look and feel very different.

The discussion

Some of the early questions focused on concerns, such as overlooking and daylight as a result of proximity, height and balconies, which suggested resistance to change. However, the tone then changed with the majority of questions/comments reflecting a better understanding of the considered and sensitive approach being taken by both local planners and architects to exploring opportunities for increasing densities, as part of the transitional approach. The discussion reflected a much better appreciation of the likely scale and pace of change that will face many of London’s suburbs, and how challenging that will be to residents in and around areas marked for transformation, for example opportunity areas.

Densifying the suburbs – Ben Derbyshire