Planning in London, Issue 137, April-June 2026
Issue 137 of Planning in London, the journal of the London Planning and Development Forum, has been published, covering the period April-June 2026. London Forum has a subscription arrangement whereby our members may read it.
Our AI-generated summary can be downloaded.
Table of contents:
- The housing delivery crisis from multiple angles (Berkeley halting land buys, the 84% collapse in starts, viability evaporating across most of London)
- The new NPPF and what [more…]
Planning in London, Issue 136, Jan-Mar 2026
Issue 136 of Planning in London, the journal of the London Planning and Development Forum, has been published, covering the period Jan-Mar 2026. London Forum has a subscription arrangement whereby our members may read it.
A useful AI-generated summary can be downloaded (included in website searches).
Table of contents:
- Planning Enables; It Doesn’t Deliver — the editors’ critique of housing delivery failure.
- New Kinds of Suburbia — Mallett on suburban densification and design-led approaches.
- Key Opinion Pieces — [more…]
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…]
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.
Measures to improve delivery of affordable housing in London
London Forum has responded to two consultations to boost house building, as follows.
A Government consultation on Emergency Measures for a temporary relief from the CIL and changes to Mayoral planning powers.
A GLA draft London Plan Guidance proposing time-limited changes to cycle parking, changes to housing design guidance and a time-limited planning route for the delivery of affordable housing.
London Forum believes neither [more…]
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…]
The value of UK’s UNESCO sites
Britain’s World Heritage UNESCO-designated sites cover 14% of the UK’s land area.
A study described here will pioneer new methodologies to understand their value not just in economic terms, but the wider value of local partnerships and collaboration. It should help communities defend the four World Heritage Sites in London by demonstrating their outstanding universal value for use in considering planning applications and other potential causes of harm.
A.R.S Progetti, leading the study, has worked across governance, cultural heritage, education, urban planning, and environmental management.
Planning in London, Issue 135, Oct-Dec 2025
Issue 135 of Planning in London, the journal of the London Planning and Development Forum, has been released, covering the period October-December 2025. London Forum has an agreed subscription arrangement whereby our members may read it, but links are not available on this website.
Our AI-generated summary can be downloaded.
The full edition is not available on the website.
Consultation for next London Plan
The GLA has published an ‘Easy Read’ version here of an earlier ‘Towards a New London Plan‘. It explains the need to deliver more homes and related problems. The consultation seeks views on that and various options for land use, jobs, environment and cultural facilities. London Forum’s members should consider responding by the closing date of 2nd November 2025 to influence the content of the draft replacement London Plan due in 2026.
Housing delivery – THF
The Housing Forum (THF) has published useful reports. One assessed Progress at July 2025 towards 1.5 m new homes target. Another in September 2025 is Barriers to housing delivery. It identifies challenges bringing housing delivery almost to a halt and offers solutions to financial constraints, planning complexities, regulatory pressures, workforce capacity and efficiency of working practices. The Government, the next London Plan and London’s local authorities will need policies to address those issues.
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How Effective is Planning Enforcement?
📆 Mon 29th June | 18:30 - 20:30
🚩 77 Cowcross Street, EC1M 6EL (map)
How can we make it work better? Planning enforcement is important. Unless it’s done effectively, the integrity of the whole planning system is put at risk. But it’s one of the most frustrating issues for civic societies and local community groups. We’ll discuss this and related issues at this Open Meeting on 29th June. Please book here ( https://www.londonforum.org.uk/events/how-effective-is-planning-enforcement#booking ) Cases typically include: Large developments that grossly fail to meet planning conditions or even submitted drawings and plans; Illegal demolitions; Unauthorised residential alterations and extensions; Additional floors…