Tall buildings
The London Assembly Planning and Regeneration Committee published a tall buildings report – Do Tall Buildings Work in London? It states that tall buildings are not always delivering for residents at different stages of their lives. The Committee also heard evidence that flats in new tall buildings are often too expensive for those who need housing the most.
Recommendations in the report include the following:
- The GLA should conduct a housing typology assessment to understand what mixture of housing typologies London needs as part of [more…]
Cut in affordable homes
According to a 14th May 2025 BBC News report, the GLA and Government have agreed to reduce London’s target for the Affordable Homes Programme 2021-2026 from a range of 23,900 to 27,100 starts to 17,800 to 19,000 – a cut of 22%.
A GLA Housing in London report last November showed 2,358 City Hall funded affordable homes in 2023 until the end of Q2 2024 – a 91 per cent cut in the 25,658 affordable homes 2022-23. In 2024, 528 GLA-funded affordable homes began construction between March [more…]
Impact of planning changes
The Government published impact assessments at https://bit.ly/4meFcmM for the Planning and Infrastructure Bill. It could introduce planning committee modernisation with more delegated decisions. The Commons Bill Committee debated it here which should be of interest to all civic, amenity and community groups.
Claire Holland
Claire Holland became a London councillor in 2014 in Lambeth’s Oval ward and Leader of Labour-controlled Lambeth borough in 2021. In July 2024 Claire was elected chair of London Councils, the cross-party collective of all of the capital’s local authorities.
Dave Hill for ON LONDON interviewed Clair and his fascinating report is here.
Towards a new London Plan
The Mayor launched a consultation ‘Towards a new London Plan’, running to 22nd June 2025 as here. It will be explained by the Deputy Mayor, Jules Pipe, at London Forum’s event on 13th May. The GLA offers supporting videos on the key topics and online events are offered which can be booked here. A Call for Evidence facility can be used to make additional detailed input to the GLA. It was part of the ‘Planning for London Programme’ in 2023, the results of [more…]
New Assembly Committees
GLA Assembly Members on each of their committees were listed in Appendix 1 of the Assembly Plenary agenda for 6th May 2025.
Members can see there the committees to which their constituency Assembly Member has been appointed and then liaise with them on its work. Dates of London Assembly meetings are in the calendar here.
Assembly Members may present petitions initiated as described here by members of the public who wish to raise a matter of concern with the Mayor or a functional body of the Greater London [more…]
Government wants more delegated decisions
The government is to consult on shifting the jurisdiction of planning committees for smaller housing schemes, building on proposals in the Planning and Infrastructure Bill.
As reported by The Times, the government is expected to announce further elements of its planning reform agenda in the coming weeks. Among the most contentious is a proposed consultation on removing council planning committees’ ability to “interfere in the vast majority of planning applications.”
Planning minister Matthew Pennycook has confirmed that larger schemes will continue to go before committee. However, stripping Councillors’ planning committees [more…]
Borough finance difficulties
London Councils, representing local authorities in London, has issued a press release on how the housing crisis threatens to bankrupt London boroughs due to the £330m overspend in coping with homeless people.
Fees for planning applications
The Government has updated its guidance which explains planning related fees, to what they apply and the method of calculating them, as here.
100 years to clear family social housing waiting lists
New data of the National Housing Federation, Crisis and Shelter found that acute shortages of social housing suitable for families mean it would now take more than 100 years to clear waiting lists in some places, with London 15th of the top 20 most affected UK areas. Boroughs spend £4m a day providing temporary housing. See more here.
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Making Social Rent Homes viable
Noise Action Week 11th to 15th May 2026
Additional rules for Neighbourhood Forums
Will the next London Plan rise to the city’s real challenges?
This article was first published in Housing Today.
Ben Derbyshire reflects on Sadiq Khan’s latest policies to boost housebuilding in the capital.
You could be forgiven for thinking, following Sadiq Khan’s [more…]
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Member Services Committee meeting
📅 Thu 7th May | 14:00 - 16:00
🚩 Room B1 70 Cowcross St, EC1M 6EJ (map)
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Planning, Environment and Transport committee meeting
📅 Thu 11th June | 14:00 - 16:00
🚩 Room B1 70 Cowcross St, EC1M 6EJ (map)