Draft London Plan response – linked policy by policy
The GLA’s consultation on the draft London Plan 2026 closed on 15 October 2026, London Forum submitted a 39-page response. This is the short version: the main points, then in Our Comments policy by policy, a one or two-line summary of key comments on each, with links to the GLA’s original text, and to our full response. 
Why the draft Plan falls short
We agree strongly that the Government’s 85,000-a-year target for new homes is [more…]
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.
He wrote that, as he comes to the end of his term as chair of that panel, it is an apposite moment for him to share the panel’s views on the Prime Minister’s call for “growth in every postcode.”
Ben will be talking about this subject at the AGM on 28th October
You can read the full article here.
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.
Planning in London, Issue 138, Jul-Sep 2026
Issue 138 of Planning in London, the journal of the London Planning and Development Forum, has been published, covering the period July-September 2026.
Contents:
- Housing, devolution & new towns — Burnham’s growth agenda, National Housing Bank.
- London’s office squeeze — shortage of prime workspace & economic impact.
- Olympia unveiled — Spparc & Heatherwick’s £1.3bn regeneration in Hammersmith.
- £9bn in unspent developer contributions — why S106 & CIL funds are stuck in council accounts.
- Planning policy & appeals — City Plan 2040 stalled, station-led development & rising appeal rates.
- High streets [more…]
![BID's in London [image: LSE]](https://i0.wp.com/www.londonforum.org.uk/wp-content/uploads/2026/06/BIDs.png?resize=1024%2C738&ssl=1)
What are BIDs doing for Town Centres in Central and Outer London?
Earlier this year, London Forum organised a very interesting open meeting with members about the state of London’s High Streets and the night-time economy. One of the presenters was from a BID (Business Improvement District), highlighting their work in improving business areas in central London. That raised a question, what are BIDs doing in outer London?
Once a BID has been voted in by local businesses it is funded by a supplement to the business rates paid in the area. Of the 76 BIDs [more…]
Improving neighbourhoods
The Communities Secretary Steve Reed has given a speech about a new Neighbourhood Guarantee.
He said “In total, £6 bn is being given to new Neighbourhood Boards, made up of local people, to spend on whatever the local community believes it needs. Over the coming weeks I will outline a radical new approach to community power, and how we will help people take back control over the decisions that affect their family, their community and their hometown.”
The speech explains the problems that are to be solved.
Are London’s High Streets and Town Centres in Crisis? Meeting report
We held a lively meeting last week, chaired by Michael Bach (pictured), examining the many issues around high streets and the night time economy. We had four expert speakers, and a significant number of audience questions.
For the first time, we video-recorded the event. The video and audio recordings are posted on the event page. We used AI to generate a summary, plus an even shorter summary here. If you’d like to discover how we did this, please book for our AI talk at the end of [more…]
![Live Music [ Photo by Thibault Trillet, Pexels.com ]](https://i0.wp.com/www.londonforum.org.uk/wp-content/uploads/2026/02/pexels-thibault-trillet-44912-167636.jpg?resize=1280%2C848&ssl=1)
Pubs and live music venues : Business rates relief
On 27 January 2026, the Government announced that eligible pubs and live music venues in England will receive a 15% reduction on their business rates bills for the 2026/27 financial year and the bills will be frozen in real terms in 2027/28 and 2028/29.
Guidance for local authorities in administrating the relief has been published.
It will be for individual local billing authorities to adopt a local scheme and determine in each individual case when, having regard to this guidance, to grant relief.
The guidance gives definitions of the venues that [more…]
Are London’s High Streets and Town Centres in Crisis?
What is the nature and scale of the crisis and why are some streets and centres doing better or worse than others. What can be done about it? We discussed these and related issues at this Open Meeting on 26th March.
London’s town centres have had a challenging decade – changing planning policies, growing on-line sales, COVID, vacant shops and rising costs. They are in transition, but are they going in the right direction? How can we maintain their vitality? How do we make them more attractive and a [more…]
Funding for ailing High Streets
High streets with boarded up shop fronts and lacking essentials such as butchers, grocers and bakeries could benefit from a Government £150 million cash injection.
More details on the High Streets Strategy, including how funding will be allocated to specific places, will be announced in the coming months.
The loss of the last pub in an area will be banned to prevent the loss of the last community facility of that kind.
There will be rules to tackle the proliferation of betting shops on high streets.
We’re holding an Open Meeting to address [more…]
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![Sewage in the Thames {Photo: Chiswick Calendar]](https://i0.wp.com/www.londonforum.org.uk/wp-content/uploads/2026/10/Sewage-in-the-river-Thames.jpg?fit=150%2C100&ssl=1)
Rebuilding trust in the water sector
The Independent Water Commission published its report with 88 recommendations on restoring public and investor confidence in the water sector ...
Planning in London, Issue 139, Oct-Dec 2026
Issue 139 of Planning in London (Oct-Dec 2026), the journal of the London Planning and Development Forum, has been published.
...
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.
...
Draft London Plan response – linked policy by policy
The GLA’s consultation on the draft London Plan 2026 closed on 15 October 2026, London Forum submitted a 39-page response. This is the short version: the main points, then in Our Comments policy by policy, a one or two-line summary of key ...
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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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