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.
Children in temporary accommodation
The report by the Housing, Communities and Local Government Committee on this subject shows over 164,000 homeless children are currently living in temporary accommodation across England. Some families are in such accommodation for years without a settled home offer, due to the chronic shortage of social and affordable housing. London boroughs spend a combined total of £4 million per day on temporary accommodation.
London Councils, representing London’s boroughs, has commented on that as here.
Building Safety Levy
A Building Safety Levy on new development to raise £3.4 billion is planned for Autumn 2026 with regulations published this year. Rates per square metre of floor space based on local house prices will be set per local authority area. There will be rates for previously and non-previously developed land (as defined in the NPPF), e.g. in RBK&C £50.17 and £100.35 respectively and in LB Enfield £22.06 and £44.13.
The Home Builders Federation (HBF) has sent a letter signed by over 100 housebuilders to Chancellor Rachel Reeves calling for [more…]
The new London Plan: Shaping housing for the future: rescheduled
This London Forum/London Society joint event has been rescheduled for May 13th because of a delay in the publication of the supporting GLA paper ‘Towards a London Plan’ – originally due in February.
The details are on the rescheduled event page, and booking is still essential. There are a few more tickets available at UCL as it’s a larger lecture theatre.
If you booked for the original date, you should have been notified of the change by email, with your booking now moved to the new date. Please [more…]
Funds for social homes
Government announced £2 billion investment to support social and affordable house building. £400 million of that was allocated to London in addition to £100 million in the budget last autumn. All projects funded will need to start by March 2027 and finish by June 2029. City Hall has been asked to allocate the funds to prioritise social rent homes.
London Councils estimates boroughs spend £4m every day on temporary accommodation. This spending has jumped 68% over [more…]
Safe as Houses
‘Safe as Houses: Why Investment in Social Housing is Great for Us and Our Economy’ is the title of a publication by Shelter here.
It sets out the economic and fiscal case for investing in social homes and includes analyses of how the housing emergency is damaging our economy. It offers insights into how social housing stimulates productive investment and an efficient labour market.
Polly Neate CBE, Chief Executive Officer, Shelter wrote in a foreword to the document “Unless there is a wish to repeat the neglect of [more…]
Housing supply
The Government updated its housing supply statistics to include an estimate of net additional dwellings between 1 April 2024 and 23 March 2025. Also, an estimate of net additional dwellings since 9 July 2024, to measure progress towards the government’s target to deliver 1.5 million homes during the current parliament. See here.
BPF calls for more planners
British Property Federation (BPF) has called on Government for 3000 more planners (only 300 had been pledged) and more resources for the Building Safety Regulator, to unlock delivery of thousands of new homes across the country, as here.
They propose the Government could unlock an additional £20bn private capital to deliver 240,000 units of social housing over the next five years.
Friary Park update
Both GLA and independent analysis of viability for the Friary Park scheme in LB Ealing indicate a profit of up to £18m compared with Mount Anvil’s claims of their £30m loss, as explained in the video, which could affect the amount of affordable housing in the development.
The Assembly will be asked to consider the situation and DHCLG will be informed.
The Government is considering bringing into force an unimplemented part of the Levelling-Up and Regeneration Act 2023 on how a developer’s past behaviour could be taken into account by [more…]
Slow build-out rates
According to the Institute for Public Policy Research (IPPR) here, the government should explore measures to tackle “unproductive land speculation” and slow build-out rates by developers of permitted residential sites, rather than blaming the planning system and ‘red tape’ for the housing crisis.
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Guidance for councils : Opening up access to planning information
London Forum has published Guidance for Councils on access to planning application information.
From 31st October 2026, the National ...
Rainwater management and SuDS
The Rainwater Management Platform (RMP) will transform The Sustainable Urban Drainage SuDS Manual (C753) into a free to access online ...
![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 ...
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://www.londonforum.org.uk/agm-papers/ ) Appointment of the Independent Examiner Election…
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Member Services Committee meeting
📅 Thu 3rd December | 14:00 - 16:00
🚩 Room F3 70 Cowcross St, EC1M 6EJ (map)
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