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…]
Mayor’s licensing powers
The Government is proposing to give the Mayor of London new powers in licensing. This proposal aims to boost London’s nightlife, hospitality, culture and tourism, whilst keeping the city safe and inclusive.
Details are on the GLA website here. There is a consultation for which responses can be submitted until 27th March.
These proposed powers would be relevant to London Forum’s open meeting Are London’s High Streets and Town Centres in Crisis? on 6.30pm 26 March 2026.
![Pavement Parking [photo: gov.uk]](https://i0.wp.com/www.londonforum.org.uk/wp-content/uploads/2026/01/s300_pavement-park.jpg?resize=300%2C195&ssl=1)
Pavement parking
There was a consultation on this subject, as the Government is taking forward a new approach to pavement parking for decisions being made closer to the communities affected.
The Government issued its interim proposals on the points made in 15,381 responses. It promises to bring forward a regulatory framework which is national in scope and local in implementation. The issue of rental e-bikes blocking pavements needs to be addressed as they cause an unnecessary obstruction of the pavement and restrict the movement of disabled pedestrians.
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![Greenwich Park, London [Photo: Pexels]](https://i0.wp.com/www.londonforum.org.uk/wp-content/uploads/2026/08/Greenwich-Park-London-Pexels.jpg?fit=150%2C100&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 ...
Ongoing District Line service problems
East Putney, Southfields, Wimbledon Park and Wimbledon stations together see over 29 million entries and exits a year but there ...
Tackling high street decline
High streets that have been hollowed out by the unchecked spread of vape stores, betting shops, and rogue businesses that ...
Garden Annexe, Caravan, or Mobile Home?
Tim Catchpole of the Mortlake and East Sheen Society writes…
Our Society has had a recent experience which we would like to share with other London Forum members who may [more…]
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Member News
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Will the London Plan deliver the housing and places London needs?
📆 Mon 14th September | 18:30 - 20:30
🚩 77 Cowcross Street, EC1M 6EL (map)
A last chance to shape the London Plan — join us next Monday. The draft London Plan proposes that 50% of all new homes be affordable. With competition for homes, industrial and other uses, some housing will be built in what is now Green Belt land. This is an important subject covering proposals for housing development in London for the next 20 years. Book now ( https://www.londonforum.org.uk/events/will-the-london-plan-deliver-the-housing-and-places-london-needs/#booking ) for this Open Meeting on Monday 14th September. We’ve invited the London Plan team to talk about: The amount of housing required to meet…
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Planning, Environment and Transport committee meeting
📅 Thu 8th October | 14:00 - 16:00
🚩 Room B1 70 Cowcross St, EC1M 6EJ (map)