Presentation slides: Will the London Plan deliver the housing and places London needs?
The slides from last week’s London Forum/GLA event on the draft London Plan have been added to its event page.
Will the London Plan deliver the housing and places London needs?
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.
We invited the London Plan team to talk about:
- The amount of housing required to meet London needs and the tenure and size mix required;
- Where and how the new housing will be accommodated by location and the types of [more…]
Chief Planning Officer’s newsletter
The latest newsletter by Chief Planner of MHCLG, Joanna Averley, was published to local authorities’ planning officers on 18th August 2026.
It draws attention to
- the publication of the new National Planning Policy Framework, including the main changes following consultation as well as the government’s response to the consultation;
- reforms to the statutory consultee system, including changes to the roles and requirements of statutory consultees;
- publication of the 2024 and 2025 Housing Delivery Test results, alongside an updated Rule Book;
- new digital planning tools and guidance, including the rollout of [more…]
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…]
Ten BLGs in the draft London Plan
The draft London Plan was published with supporting evidence.
Comments on its content by LF members are requested by 8th September 2026 to planning@londonforum.org.uk
The plan identifies ten Broad Locations for Growth (BLG). A useful map and density information for them are in an article by Russell Curtis. He has looked at the locations identified for intensification, to try and understand where the new homes identified within the borough targets might be located
Your comments on any of those BLGs are welcome also.
National Planning Policy Framework consultation response
We’ve responded to the December 2025 NPPF consultation, which closed on 12th March 2026. This substantial piece of work, contributed to by many subject matter experts, is posted in the ‘what we’ve said‘ archive as usual, and directly linked below for your convenience. It is now fully indexed for searching too.
We are critical of some of the new decision making policies.
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 open meeting of the Forum, ‘Densifying the Suburbs’ alongside Professor Tony Travers of UCL and local planners, Paul Lewin and Justin Carr from Waltham Forest and Brent councils respectively. My challenge – most people who have time to participate in their local civic societies will already be well housed, so what, I asked, should be our [more…]
Grants for social housing
MHCLG has announced new funding and financial flexibilities for Councils, housing associations, and other providers to accelerate social and affordable housebuilding. It comes ahead of a £39 billion bidding window for local authorities opening in March.
Landlords will also have to meet robust standards to provide homes that are free of disrepair and damp, warm and energy efficient through a new Decent Homes Standard (DHS). There will be new Minimum Energy Efficiency Standards that could save social tenants hundreds of pounds every year on their energy bills.
Densifying the Suburbs – Meeting report
We held an excellent sold-out meeting last week examining the issues, with very interesting speakers and a rapt audience. The event page has been updated with a detailed report, event photo and the pdf presentations from Tony Travers and Paul Lewin. It can be found in our events archive along with records of previous meetings.
Densifying the suburbs
The next London Plan, with its much higher housing targets, will increase the pressure for higher densities in the suburbs. It could guide high-density housing / mixed-use development to high accessibility locations. The shape of the new strategy will be a key issue for the new London Plan.
Issues
- What is the vision? What should the strategy be? (Speaker: Prof. Tony Travers), and
- What would be needed to increase the density of the London suburbs? (Speaker: Ben Derbyshire)
How much should we focus on accessible locations – around stations and [more…]
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Presentation slides: Will the London Plan deliver the housing and places London needs?
The slides from last week's London Forum/GLA event on the draft London Plan have been added to its event page.
...
Key policies in the NPPF
The following is a blog recently written by the lawyer Simon Ricketts which is intended to help developers to get a planning application approved. It is helpful for London Forum's members to understand parts of the new NPPF and for considering its ...
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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)
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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://…