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.
We’ll discuss these and related issues at this Open Meeting on 29th January – please book here
Issues
- What is the vision? What should the strategy be? (Speaker: Prof. Tony Travers), and
- What would be needed to increase the density of [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.
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.
London Population’s Projected Growth: Patterns Across Boroughs
This is the second in a series of articles on London’s population, making use of the Office of National Statistics’ latest growth projections, published recently here. The focus is on variations across both inner and outer London boroughs.
Context: London and the rest of the country
London currently has a population of around 9.1 million, representing 15% of the total population of England and Wales. The Office of National Statistics (ONS) has published its latest projections which show that London’s population is expected to have grown by 6.7% [more…]
Social housing fund
The Government has announced an allocation of £11.7 billion to the GLA over ten years for the delivery of additional social and affordable housing with a minimum of 60% as Social Rent. The programme will support some regeneration schemes that provide a net increase in homes on a site. Five steps to a decade of renewal are explained in the policy paper, including for rents, borrowing costs, building safety, skills and capabilities.
Consultations on a new Decent Homes Standard and on Minimum Energy Efficiency Standards are [more…]
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Clarifying design codes
![Statutory consultees jigsaw - inspired by image by Markus Winkler [Unsplash] and made with AI](https://i0.wp.com/www.londonforum.org.uk/wp-content/uploads/2026/01/Statutory_consultees.jpg?fit=1536%2C1024&ssl=1)
Statutory Consultees
Statutory consultees play an important role in the planning application process by providing expert advice on significant environmental, transport, safety, and heritage issues. There are currently 13 organisations that local planning authorities [more…]
Most Popular This Week
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Densifying the suburbs
📆 Thu 29th January | 18:30 - 20:30
🚩 77 Cowcross Street, EC1M 6EL (map)
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. We’ll discuss these and related issues at this Open Meeting on 29th January – please book here ( https://www.londonforum.org.uk/events/densifying-the-suburbs/?occurrence=2026-01-29#booking ) Issues What is the vision? What should the strategy be? (Speaker: Prof. Tony Travers), and What would be needed to…
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Member Services Committee meeting
📅 Thu 5th February | 14:00 - 16:00
🚩 Room B1 70 Cowcross St, EC1M 6EJ (map)
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Planning, Environment and Transport committee meeting
📅 Thu 12th February | 14:00 - 16:00
🚩 Room B1 70 Cowcross St, EC1M 6EJ (map)