HS2 update
The Government has issued its second High Speed Two (HS2) update to Parliament.
The tunnel for HS2 into Oak Oak Common station was completed at the end of June 2025.
There are integrated plans for the Euston station campus alongside significant levels of local development, now the tunnel into there for HS2 will commence in Spring 2026. A Euston Delivery Company will be set up.
The Government is considering funding by private finance, development receipts, and potential local contributions such as tax increment financing, with a degree [more…]
Open Spaces Society 160th anniversary
The Open Spaces Society was founded in 1865 and has played a part in many victories since then in saving commons, green spaces, and public paths for all to enjoy. They offer help when any of those are under threat.
The successes in which they have been involved include Hampstead Heath, Wandsworth Common, Wimbledon Common, Clapham Common and others on their website here.
TravelWatch 25th anniversary
London TravelWatch, the independent watchdog for the capital’s transport users, is marking 25 years with the launch of a brand new podcast, Talking Transport.
You can sign up for their newsletter.
Phantom Buses
We have all suffered frustrations waiting at a bus stop for a bus that the Countdown screen or our phone app says is due in three minutes, but takes much longer than that to arrive. We can usually put that down to traffic congestion, road works, etc.
But over the past few months, many of us have had the welcome experience of our bus suddenly arriving unannounced. It sets you up for the day. But how does the Countdown system lose TfL’s buses?
The system uses GPS, transponders and gyros [more…]
Flooding and Surface Water Strategy
A ‘Flood Ready London Partnership‘ of the Environment Agency, London Councils, London Fire Brigade, Mayor of London, Thames Water and TfL, supported by the Thames Regional Flood and Coastal Committee has developed a London Surface Water Strategy.
The London Climate Resilience Review warned that London is under prepared for the impacts of climate change. The Environment Agency’s National Flood Risk Assessment highlights that almost 320,000 properties in London are at high risk of surface water flooding.
Response to ‘Towards a new London Plan’
We’ve formally responded to the consultation on ‘Towards a new London Plan’, which closed yesterday evening, following on from the presentation by the Deputy Mayor, Jules Pipe, at London Forum’s event on 13th May.
We used some AI tools to help summarise our answers to the long set of questions in a readable format, with the detailed summary now held in our ‘What we’ve said’ archive here.
A shorter summary can be found below:
Section 1: Introduction
London Forum expresses strong reservations about the imposed Government’s [more…]
Spending Review
Matthew Pennycook MP, MHCLG Minister, wrote to social housing providers about £39 billion in the Spring Statement 2025 for a successor to the Affordable Homes Programme over 10 years of starts from 2026-27. It prioritises social rent homes and funds affordable rent and shared ownership.
Sadiq Khan issued a statement regretting the Spending Review had no funding for new London transport infrastructure to support development. He wrote that without it “We will not be able to build the numbers of new affordable homes Londoners need.” and “The way [more…]
High Street Rental Auctions
Councils are empowered to take action where landlords have not taken sufficient steps to rent property by auctioning off leases on premises that have been vacant for more than a year and granting local businesses and community groups the ‘right to rent’ empty commercial lots at market prices.
The Government has updated guidance on the way auctions should be conducted, as here.
Chief Planner’s update
The MHCLG Chief Planner, Johanna Averley (pictured), has issued a newsletter to local authority planners. It covers a Modernised Planning Committees consultation and speeding up build-out with Completion Notices, a Delayed Homes Penalty and Compulsory Purchase Orders, as in a recent Working Paper and Technical Consultation.
The Government proposed Planning and Infrastructure Bill amendments to remove the statutory requirement to consult in the pre-application stage for NSIP applications.
DEFRA is consulting on options for how Biodiversity Net Gain (BNG) should be applied and MHCLG issued a related Working [more…]
Planning and Infrastructure Bill debate
Labour members of the Commons Planning and Infrastructure Bill Committee voted through Clause 46 in that Bill for delegation of planning decisions. Government guidance is to be produced. Gideon Amos, LibDem MP, said “We are dealing with primary statutory legislation here, and there would be no discretion over its implementation. We are talking about giving him [Mathew Pennycook MP] and all future Ministers, of whatever party, the power to write the delegation arrangements for each local council in the country and tell them what they may or may [more…]
Didn’t find what you’re looking for? Try a new search:
West London Orbital overground
TfL is making plans for a new rail service on existing, underused rail lines in west London - this would ...
Planning Resources Are Stretched Thin
According to research by the Home Builders Federation (HBF) nine in ten local authority planning departments in England and Wales ...
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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Member News
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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://…