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Planning reform, budgets and anything directly controlled by central government
Planning in London, Issue 139, Oct-Dec 2026
Issue 139 of Planning in London, the journal of the London Planning and Development Forum, has been published, covering Oct-Dec 2026.
Contents:
- The draft London Plan — 558,000 homes, Green Belt, densities, tall buildings
- The new NPPF — pro-development presumptions, station-led growth & viability
- Less say for councillors and communities? — the new scheme of delegation & front-loaded appeals
- Housing at a low ebb — record-low approvals, the Mayor’s City Hall Developer, and ideas for getting London building, including contributions by Dame Kate Barker (Spatial strategy) & Nicholas [more…]
![EV charger [photo: unsplash]](https://i0.wp.com/www.londonforum.org.uk/wp-content/uploads/2026/10/EV-charger-unsplash.jpg?resize=1280%2C853&ssl=1)
Home electric vehicle charging
On 21 October 2026 the GPDO (Amendment) (No. 2) Order 2026 will extend Part 2, Classes D and E, to any part of the curtilage of a house or block of flats to allow an electric charging socket on the front wall.
Where a footway lies between the charger and the car, the cable must cross under it through an authorised cross-pavement channel. A new Part 9, Class F lets highway authorities install those channels but that requires planning permission.
Many boroughs have already fitted electric vehicle charging points into [more…]
Development viability issues
Housing Community Summit, Liverpool, 9 September 2026
The Housing and Planning Minister Matthew Pennycook MP acknowledged in a speech the tough viability conditions for development, with margins squeezed by reduced interest cover and higher materials costs. He argued the government has nonetheless delivered on its earlier commitments. He cited the £39bn ten-year Social and Affordable Homes Programme SAHP (for at least 60% Social Rent), a ten-year rent settlement at CPI+1% with rent convergence, and £2.5bn of low-interest loans. He also mentioned restored Right to Buy discounts [more…]
Community funding
The Government has announced the next wave of the Common Ground Award for community organisations across England which provides up to £2.5m for projects, groups and organisations bringing people together, transforming their community and strengthening relationships in their area by creating and developing welcome local spaces.
Projects will receive cash to improve the spaces and equipment people rely on to meet, mix and feel part of their community.
Here is the link to apply for the Common Ground Award for 2026-27.
![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?resize=1100%2C1100&ssl=1)
More social housing
Capacity to Build is a skills and capacity funding offer by MHCLG to councils between April 2026 and March 2029, helping councils to:
- improve workforce capability to deliver social and affordable housing
- recruit and retain staff to specialist housebuilding positions
- develop and accelerate bids to the Social and Affordable Homes Programme (SAHP)
See the comments here by London Councils on how boroughs have identified capacity for 50,00 council homes over the next ten years and how grant funding and other financial measures are needed [more…]
Information for members
Within the ‘Resources‘ page of the website, ‘External Resources‘ provides links to news on London and on the activities of the Government and the GLA. Societies and London Plan team members can subscribe to several of these for periodic updates.
A new link to the Planning Portal has been added which is well worth monitoring regularly for news on proposals of Government and changes that they have implemented. The list of topics that you can read about [more…]
Planning agreements for medium-sized sites
The Government has launched a consultation on a set of standard planning agreements for medium-sized housing sites. The proposals are intended to help streamline the negotiation of Section 106 agreements, provide greater certainty for local planning authorities and developers, and reduce the time and resources spent negotiating standard provisions.
Details are on page 3 of the latest newsletter to local authorities by Joanna Averley, MHCLG’s Chief Planner.
The Government thinks Section 106 agreements can secure affordable housing, despite the cross-subsidy model not achieving its aims recently.
Protection for Public Green Space
The Government will review the fragmented and outdated nature of current legislative protections for public recreational green spaces, assess how these protections complement those in the planning system, and consider the lack of central records on protected land.
The review will engage a wide range of stakeholders including NFPGS to understand how the current framework operates in practice and will identify options to improve clarity, coherence and accessibility of the legislative framework, informing future policy development.
The findings will be published by Spring 2027.
![Greenwich Park, London [Photo: Pexels]](https://i0.wp.com/www.londonforum.org.uk/wp-content/uploads/2026/08/Greenwich-Park-London-Pexels.jpg?resize=1280%2C853&ssl=1)
Parks and Climate Change
The Heritage Fund worked with Historic England to better understand how the climate crisis is affecting the UK’s natural heritage sites and the people that manage them.
As the first research of its kind, owners and managers of historic parks, gardens and cemeteries were asked how these 2,700+ registered heritage sites are coping and how they are being managed and maintained in response to climate challenges.
View Historic parks, gardens and cemeteries climate change executive summary
View Historic parks, gardens and cemeteries climate change full report
Tackling high street decline
High streets that have been hollowed out by the unchecked spread of vape stores, betting shops, and rogue businesses that do little to serve local communities are set to face a crackdown under new powers announced by the Prime Minister.
Details of the new powers are here.
There will be a 20% cut to business rates for pubs, social clubs and live music venues across England from next year to help them – fully funded by reviewing reliefs for businesses that do not make a positive contribution.
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Planning in London, Issue 139, Oct-Dec 2026
Issue 139 of Planning in London, the journal of the London Planning and Development Forum, has been published, covering Oct-Dec ...
Community engagement in growth
London Forum's President, Ben Derbyshire, has written an article on his conclusions from the work of the Historic Places Panel.
...![EV charger [photo: unsplash]](https://i0.wp.com/www.londonforum.org.uk/wp-content/uploads/2026/10/EV-charger-unsplash.jpg?fit=150%2C100&ssl=1)
Home electric vehicle charging
On 21 October 2026 the GPDO (Amendment) (No. 2) Order 2026 will extend Part 2, Classes D and E, to ...
Key policies in the NPPF
The following is a blog recently written by the lawyer Simon Ricketts which is intended to help developers to get a planning application approved. It is helpful for London Forum's members to understand parts of the new NPPF and for considering its ...
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Annual General Meeting 2026
📆 Wed 28th October | 18:30 - 20:30
🚩 77 Cowcross Street, EC1M 6EL (map)
Wednesday 28 October 6.30pm at The Gallery, 77 Cowcross Street, EC1M 6EL Notice is hereby given to member societies of the 2026 AGM of the London Forum of Amenity and Civic Societies. Doors open for networking, drinks and nibbles from 6.00pm. Please book your place(s) using the booking facility ( https://www.londonforum.org.uk/events/agm-2026#booking ). Agenda Welcome and Introduction Approval of the Minutes of the AGM of 16 October 2025, available here ( https://www.londonforum.org.uk/agm-papers/ ) Chair’s Report – Chair Michael Jubb Financial Report – Treasurer Ali Dezyanian Approval of the Annual Report and Accounts for 2025-2026, available here ( https://…
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