Ongoing District Line service problems
East Putney, Southfields, Wimbledon Park and Wimbledon stations together see over 29 million entries and exits a year but there are frequent District Line service delays. That section was left out of an upgrade scheme, as in an article in Putney News.
Campaigners urge people to visit a demonstration on 17 September, sign a petition and share it with anyone else who uses the branch, as delays affect also the District Line service east of Earls Court.
More detail on the campaign’s case [more…]
AI for decision making
This week’s edition of LDN has useful information on the use of AI in decision making, the never-ending story of HS2 in London and a roundup of London’s politics and planning news.
London Forum suggests that member societies sign up to receive LDN weekly newsletters and to use their information in communications with members.
If you find the LDN updates useful, they welcome donations.
Response to Heathrow Expansion Consultation
The London Forum has submitted a highly critical response to the Government’s consultation on Heathrow expansion policy – link below.
The economic appraisal which forms part of the consultation shows that the relevant costs taken together, including environmental costs, greatly exceed the expected benefits. We cover many other issues in our response; but for that reason alone, we cannot support the draft policy statement.
You only have until 1st September to respond – our previous article has some useful guidance.
Feedback required on draft London Plan
An update on 17th August 2026 asked for feedback on the ten Broad Locations for Growth (BLG) in the 2026 draft London Plan. See this article.
The draft plan has also a section on Brownfield Opportunity Areas (BFOAs).
Any LF member society with a BFOA in their area is asked to comment on its status, the indicative number of homes, its boundary, purpose and aims of the OA and any transport required.
For either or both, please comment by 15th September 2026 to planning@londonforum.org.uk
Dates for Tube train upgrades
A TimeOut news report by Eloise Feilden describes how the plans for replacing the 54 year old Bakerloo Line’s trains has commenced, but slowly.
New trains are unlikely to be on the tracks before 2035.
The current priority for TfL is the new walk-through, air-conditioned carriages and upgrades for the Piccadilly line, in their explanation.
TimeOut reported in February that the new Piccadilly Line’s trains will be operational later than expected. The forecast is for Summer 2027.
Healthy Street Scorecard 2026
The annual results have been published by CPRE (London) for the Healthy Streets scores by borough.
Visit their website to see all the results, including the ones for Your Borough and the new TLRN (red routes) Scorecard.
The launch presentation slides are here and list the Input indicators for the scores:
- 20 mph
- Controlled parking zones
- Low traffic neighbourhoods
- Cycle tracks
- [more…]
Consultation on Heathrow expansion
A Draft Heathrow Expansion National Policy Statement (HENPS) consultation has been published with a deadline for responses by 1st September 2026.
London Forum has prepared a briefing note for its members and asks you to feed your views back to us on the consultation questions in it by 7th August if possible; so that the London Forum can submit comments to the government before the deadline.
We also very much encourage you in parallel to respond directly to the government, both [more…]
![TBM 'Florence' [Photo: HS2 ltd]](https://i0.wp.com/www.londonforum.org.uk/wp-content/uploads/2026/06/HS2-Florence.jpg?resize=1280%2C853&ssl=1)
HS2 Reset
The High Speed 2 railway has had numerous resets yet it clings on to its existence albeit in a truncated form. The latest announcement by the Secretary of State for Transport followed the publication of the Lovegrove report into what went wrong, and some interim recommendations from the on-going review of how the project should be reset that is being conducted by HS2’s CEO, Mark Wild. The Lovegrove report is useful because it finally nails the claim repeated over many years by politicians and many of those directly [more…]
![E-bike fire Shepherds Bush [photo: LFB]](https://i0.wp.com/www.londonforum.org.uk/wp-content/uploads/2026/05/ebike-fire-shepherds-bush.webp?resize=700%2C525&ssl=1)
A lithium-ion battery fire every five hours
Follow this link to [more…]
London Infrastructure Framework
With the next London Plan in development, London needs strategic priority infrastructure projects to deliver its economic, housing and resilience ambitions. The Mayor has published a London Infrastructure Framework (LIF) to translate the vision into delivery.
It includes a London Infrastructure Framework Explorer to provide a visual and interactive way to explore the projects featured in the LIF Portfolio. The tool enables users to identify where infrastructure schemes with the highest impact on London’s key outcomes are located, and the different economic sectors they relate [more…]
Didn’t find what you’re looking for? Try a new search:
![Greenwich Park, London [Photo: Pexels]](https://i0.wp.com/www.londonforum.org.uk/wp-content/uploads/2026/08/Greenwich-Park-London-Pexels.jpg?fit=150%2C100&ssl=1)
Parks and Climate Change
The Heritage Fund worked with Historic England to better understand how the climate crisis is affecting the UK’s natural heritage ...
Ongoing District Line service problems
East Putney, Southfields, Wimbledon Park and Wimbledon stations together see over 29 million entries and exits a year but there ...
Tackling high street decline
High streets that have been hollowed out by the unchecked spread of vape stores, betting shops, and rogue businesses that ...
Garden Annexe, Caravan, or Mobile Home?
Tim Catchpole of the Mortlake and East Sheen Society writes…
Our Society has had a recent experience which we would like to share with other London Forum members who may [more…]
Most Popular This Week
Member News
-
Will the London Plan deliver the housing and places London needs?
📆 Mon 14th September | 18:30 - 20:30
🚩 77 Cowcross Street, EC1M 6EL (map)
A last chance to shape the London Plan — join us next Monday. 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. Book now ( https://www.londonforum.org.uk/events/will-the-london-plan-deliver-the-housing-and-places-london-needs/#booking ) for this Open Meeting on Monday 14th September. We’ve invited the London Plan team to talk about: The amount of housing required to meet…
-
Planning, Environment and Transport committee meeting
📅 Thu 8th October | 14:00 - 16:00
🚩 Room B1 70 Cowcross St, EC1M 6EJ (map)