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![London Collisions Map [TfL]](https://i0.wp.com/www.londonforum.org.uk/wp-content/uploads/2026/03/London-Collisions-Map.jpg?fit=1245%2C827&ssl=1)
Mayor’s ‘Vision Zero’ road safety plan
On 13th March 2026 the Mayor and Transport for London (TfL) launched an updated ‘Vision Zero’ plan to significantly reduce road danger and prevent deaths and serious injuries on London’s roads over the next five years.
TfL is considering how to tackle the safety issues posed by oversized cars such as SUVs, which are increasingly common on London’s roads and more likely to cause deaths or serious injuries in collisions and are too wide for existing parking infrastructure. New car tax fees for them are possible.
![Home based working [House of Lords]](https://i0.wp.com/www.londonforum.org.uk/wp-content/uploads/2026/03/Home-based-working-scaled.jpeg?fit=1810%2C2560&ssl=1)
Home-based working
The Government has responded positively to the report by the House of Lords Home-Based Working Select Committee and shares its view that home-based working can play an important role in supporting productivity, well-being and labour market participation.
The Department for Business and Trade says it is delivering on commitments in Plan to Make Work Pay, by introducing changes through the Employment Rights Act 2025 to make it more likely that flexible working requests are accepted.
Home-based working includes part-time work, flexitime, term-time hours, compressed hours, and job sharing.
![Housing in London 2025 report - affordable housing starts [GLA]](https://i0.wp.com/www.londonforum.org.uk/wp-content/uploads/2026/03/Housing-in-London-2025-report-002-22_1.png?fit=1948%2C1383&ssl=1)
Housing in London 2025
The most recent Housing in London report includes five thematic chapters:
- Demographic, economic and housing context
- Housing stock and supply
- Housing costs and affordability
- Housing needs, including homelessness and overcrowding
- Mobility and decent homes
A PDF version is available here, while the data for this and previous reports can be found on the London Datastore here.
Housing in London is the evidence base for developing the Mayor’s Housing Strategy and for London Plan housing policies.
It has graphs (1.2 and 1.3) of London’s population trend from 1801 to 2024.
Planning in London, Issue 136, Jan-Mar 2026
Issue 136 of Planning in London, the journal of the London Planning and Development Forum, has been published, covering the period Jan-Mar 2026. London Forum has a subscription arrangement whereby our members may read it.
A useful AI-generated summary can be downloaded (included in website searches).
Table of contents:
- Planning Enables; It Doesn’t Deliver — the editors’ critique of housing delivery failure.
- New Kinds of Suburbia — Mallett on suburban densification and design-led approaches.
- Key Opinion Pieces — [more…]
Demo on affordable housing crisis
National Planning Policy Framework consultation response
We’ve responded to the December 2025 NPPF consultation, which closed on 12th March 2026. This substantial piece of work, contributed to by many subject matter experts, is posted in the ‘what we’ve said‘ archive as usual, and directly linked below for your convenience. It is now fully indexed for searching too.
We are critical of some of the new decision making policies.
Chief Planning Officer’s newsletter
A recent newsletter by Chief Planner, Joanna Averley, in MHCLG to local authorities’ planning officers is here.
It includes:-
- New Plan-Making System
- Funding to support Local Plan implementation
- Compulsory purchase update
- Using AI to summarise consultation responses, see this video
- Adapting Historic Buildings for Energy and Carbon Efficiency
- Developers to comply with tree felling regulations
Website search improvements
We’ve long had an effective search facility on the website for current news, Insights, events and other pages. Last week there was an opportune moment to invest in an important additional feature to support our institutional knowledge: Search for our archive of several hundred pdf files
This is significant, in that the entire archive is now indexed and searchable, most notably ‘What We’ve said‘ since 2011, all reports and pdf attachments, plus historic editions of Insights and NewsForum.
If you’re researching particular subject in our [more…]
![Retrofit or Ruin [ image https://www.grosvenor.com ]](https://i0.wp.com/www.londonforum.org.uk/wp-content/uploads/2026/03/retrofit.webp?fit=1240%2C886&ssl=1)
Historic buildings needing upgrade
The Duke of Westminster, one of Britain’s biggest landowners, has criticised strict planning rules affecting upgrades to historic homes.
He owns 1,750 listed buildings as part of a property empire that includes some of London’s most impressive period buildings in Mayfair and Belgravia. Many require essential updating, not least for energy purposes.
![West London Orbital - proposed [Image: TfL]](https://i0.wp.com/www.londonforum.org.uk/wp-content/uploads/2026/03/West-London-Orbital-TfL-1.jpg?fit=1816%2C2000&ssl=1)
West London Orbital
A post on the IanVisits website explains how the West London Orbital could run up to six trains an hour and provide ten new interchanges with rail and Underground services, alongside four new stations at Old Oak Common Lane, Neasden, Harlesden and Lionel Road, while some existing stations along the route would be upgraded to accommodate the new service. Funds have been allocated for the next stage of planning.
The project’s backers say the new rail link could support the construction of more than 25,000 homes and 11,500 jobs.
![Brent CLT Social housing [ image Bell Phillips Architects ]](https://i0.wp.com/www.londonforum.org.uk/wp-content/uploads/2026/03/Bell-Phillips-Brent-CLT.jpg?fit=1100%2C1100&ssl=1)
Community housing in Brent 100% affordable
The Architects’ Journal published a report on a block of 19 social rent homes proposed by the non-profit, volunteer-run Brent Community Land Trust (CLT) for a site in Brentfield Road, Stonebridge, Brent. The 19-home scheme aims to give local people the “opportunity to remain in the neighbourhood”.
The plot for the scheme was identified in collaboration with Brent Council for the CLT’s Art Deco-inspired modernist housing block designed by Bell Phillips Architects, replacing a derelict site of garages. The application is to be determined in the spring
A new Victims’ Code
The Government has opened a consultation to 30th April 2026 to seek views on proposed updates to The Code of Practice for Victims of Crime in England and Wales (Victims’ Code). The Victims’ Code focuses on victims’ rights and sets out the minimum standard that organisations must provide to victims of crime.
The Ministry of Justice website has relevant links at the bottom of the page, including to the draft new Victim’s code.
There is a paper on the support that young victims of crime should get.