Chewing gum stains
Keep Britain Tidy has allocated grants for local authorities in 2025 for cleaning chewing gum from pavements, as here. That website shows which Councils have received funding over the last four years. Most London boroughs have benefited, some of them two or three times. Residents will be the best judge of how effectively the money has been spent.
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.
Community submissions cannot be ignored
The High Court has ruled that Lambeth Council acted unlawfully in its decision to impose a Low Traffic Neighbourhood (LTN) in West Dulwich, setting an important legal precedent for how councils must handle public consultation. In short: if you ask for views, you must genuinely consider them—especially when they’re backed by substantial, relevant evidence.
This landmark ruling underscores what many communities have long suspected: that public feedback on local schemes and developments can too easily become a formality rather than a meaningful part of the process. It is not [more…]
Government wants more delegated decisions
The government is to consult on shifting the jurisdiction of planning committees for smaller housing schemes, building on proposals in the Planning and Infrastructure Bill.
As reported by The Times, the government is expected to announce further elements of its planning reform agenda in the coming weeks. Among the most contentious is a proposed consultation on removing council planning committees’ ability to “interfere in the vast majority of planning applications.”
Planning minister Matthew Pennycook has confirmed that larger schemes will continue to go before committee. However, stripping Councillors’ planning committees [more…]
Using the LG Ombudsman
If complaints to a local Council about their services or actions have not reached an acceptable conclusion, a case can be raised with the Local Government Ombudsman. The website of that department has details. Unfortunately, Councils can refuse to comply with the LG Ombudsman’s directions.
Member News : How to contribute
In an earlier article, I mentioned that two-thirds of member societies are already represented on the new live member news page, which in turn provides selected articles for our weekly email to the whole membership, allowing members to share their news and knowledge across London. We select the stories that we feel are particularly newsworthy, or of benefit by way of information sharing to a significant part of our membership, and we assume you think this is a good idea too. Our aggregated membership [more…]
Old Kent Road Area Action Plan Consultation
The Walworth Society are reporting a consultation on the Old Kent Road Area Action Plan.
The plan will incorporate around 20,000 new homes, including affordable, 10,000 new jobs, community facilities new parks and public transport improvements, including the proposed extension to the Bakerloo Line and new underground stations.
More details are on Southwark’s website. You can provide your comments on their consultation page until Friday 11th April.
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…]
Drop in school places demand
A new report by London Councils has revealed London boroughs are supporting local schools as demand for school places continues to drop across the capital. It suggests a predicted decrease of 3.6% in reception pupil numbers in London over the next four years.
Night time economy
Sadiq Khan has launched a night-time economy taskforce following the departure in October 2024 of night czar Amy Lamé, after half of nightclubs closed during her eight years in the rôle. The Assembly has produced eighteen recommendations here for the night-time economy of which one is a voluntary levy on arena and stadium tickets to support grassroots music venues.
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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://…