![GSK House, Great West Road Brentford [photo: by Thomas Nugent]](https://i0.wp.com/www.londonforum.org.uk/wp-content/uploads/2026/04/GSK_House_Brentford_from_the_air.jpg?resize=640%2C480&ssl=1)
Golden Mile development
Hounslow council has unveiled a £7.5bn masterplan to build up to 14,000 homes along a stretch of the Great West Road in west London.
Set to be built over the next 15 years, the Golden Mile London plan is aiming to position this part of the capital as a leading creative and tech innovation district.
The launch of the programme follows Hounslow council’s approval of Hadley Property Group’s redevelopment of the former GSK headquarters at 980 Great West Road.
The source of this story is Building Design.
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
![Retrofit or Ruin [ image https://www.grosvenor.com ]](https://i0.wp.com/www.londonforum.org.uk/wp-content/uploads/2026/03/retrofit.webp?resize=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.
![Thermal leakage [Grosvenor]](https://i0.wp.com/www.londonforum.org.uk/wp-content/uploads/2026/02/Grosvenor-heat-leakage-e1770820351445.jpg?resize=452%2C491&ssl=1)
Barriers to historic building retrofit
A New Grosvenor report warns that England’s three million listed buildings and conservation area homes are being trapped in cold, costly decline by an outdated planning system
Local authorities spend the equivalent of 4,000 working days a year approving low-risk energy efficiency works that are almost always consented anyway
Retrofitting listed properties and buildings in conservation areas in England and Wales could deliver around 30% of the annual emissions reductions needed to meet the UK’s Sixth Carbon Budget.
Our new Resources page has some useful retrofit [more…]
Statutory Consultees – consultation response
London Forum has responded as here to this consultation.
It is to be hoped important statutory consultees will be retained and that those consulted will respond quickly and fully to enable changes or prompt decisions within the time allowed. It is important they all receive funding sufficient to meet their statutory obligations.
TfL’s as a consultee is of critical importance.
If Historic England’s role is to be reduced, it must be ensured that LPAs are adequately resourced to fill the gap.
![Statutory consultees jigsaw - inspired by image by Markus Winkler [Unsplash] and made with AI](https://i0.wp.com/www.londonforum.org.uk/wp-content/uploads/2026/01/Statutory_consultees.jpg?resize=320%2C202&ssl=1)
Statutory Consultees
Statutory consultees play an important role in the planning application process by providing expert advice on significant environmental, transport, safety, and heritage issues. There are currently 13 organisations that local planning authorities (LPAs) must consult about specialist issues when they receive relevant planning applications, from the Environment Agency and National Highways to Historic England.
Their role is very important, but there is widespread agreement that the system is not working well, causing needless duplication of effort and delays in making decisions. Hence the Government issued in November a [more…]
ESSA Introduction & Retrofit Guides
Our new member ESSA (The Edwardes Square Scarsdale and Abingdon Association) has written an introduction to their work in the attached pdf document.
We’ve added links to their professionally produced and comprehensive retrofitting guides on the new Resources page. Their guides focus separately on typical Victorian, mansion block and modern buildings in London. We’ve also posted links to the Bedford Park Society’s timely Energy Guide which addresses some of the same areas (mentioned in member news last month), and while on the topic of keeping this week’s [more…]
Green spaces protection
The Government wants to understand and identify the needs of dedicated, local community groups which champion and care for a parks and other open spaces and waterways.
If London Forum members carry out any of that work or know of local amenity groups that do so, there is an invitation to complete a green space survey which has been commissioned by the Ministry for Housing, Communities and Local Government.
Housebuilding around train stations
Housebuilding near well-connected train stations will receive a default “yes” through a new National Planning Policy Framework, to be consulted on later in 2025. Details are here.
In addition, there is a set of changes to the Planning & Regeneration Bill, which the Government says is a “Pro-growth package unshackling Britain to get building”.
As part of it, Councils must inform Government when inclined to block applications of 150 homes or more. Ministers will make the decision instead. Applications called in will not have to go to an inquiry [more…]
Statutory Consultee reform
The Government has issued a consultation until 13th January 2026 on reform of the statutory consultee system.
This consultation covers the following proposals:
- removing statutory consultee status from certain bodies
- reviewing the scope of what statutory consultees advise on
- improving performance management across existing statutory consultee bodies in the planning system
Didn’t find what you’re looking for? Try a new search:
![Manual for streets 2010 [CiHT]](https://i0.wp.com/www.londonforum.org.uk/wp-content/uploads/2026/04/manua-for-streets-2-1-scaled-e1776252588896.jpg?fit=150%2C150&ssl=1)
Manual for Streets update
Environmental Outcomes Reports
Chief Planning Officer’s newsletter
Densifying the Suburbs – A presenter’s Insight
Our President, Ben Derbyshire, provides his Insights into our recent Densifying the Suburbs event.
I welcomed the invitation to speak at an [more…]
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