London - The next 20 years. The Mayor publishes the London Plan
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The London Plan is the spatial strategy which will guide London's development over the next 15-20 years, although it will be reviewed periodically throughout that timescale.
It provides a framework for land use management and development and links all of this to the necessary improvement in infrastructure, particular transport. Policies will feed down directly from The London Plan into London Borough UDPs which in turn will set out the local planning policies for each London Borough.
The adopted London Plan is the first statutory strategic plan prepared for London for over two decades. As you would expect, a strategic plan that covers Greater London's geographical boundary presents itself as a very big document – over 400 pages. This note provides an overview of the key messages that the policies send out to those involved in the property industry.
The Mayor's overall development strategy is to deliver substantial growth in the economy at the same time as improving London's built heritage and environment. Development is to be promoted where it is most desirable and also where it can be achieved in the most sustainable way.
One of the key themes with The London Plan is partnership – whilst the Mayor has responsibility for strategic planning, he is expecting the London Boroughs to be responsible for implementation of the policies at a local plan level. The Mayor will seek to work with Boroughs and landowners to prepare sub-regional development frameworks which should provide further guidance on the opportunities for intensification of development and opportunities for regeneration in London.
One of the main strategic priorities is seen to be the regeneration of East London, especially the Thames Gateway and the London-Stansted-Cambridge corridor.
The draft sub-regional development frameworks will be completed as soon as possible and then published for consultation. Initial priority at the Mayor's office has been given over to preparation of the framework for East London. However, Central London is what we deal with first in this note.
Central London
Central London is noted as being diverse and dynamic. Sustaining the role of the Central Activity Zone (CAZ) as a base for international business and finance and a national transport node is fundamental to the success of the Plan. In London South/Central the distinct areas of development around transport notes are seen to be London Bridge, Waterloo, Vauxhall/Nine Elms/Battersea and the Elephant & Castle.
Elsewhere, King's Cross should benefit from the arrival of CTRL and Thameslink 2000. Paddington is recognised as the major national commuter rail terminal for Central/West and both these areas have potential for high density, good quality business and housing development. The areas for intensification of development include Farringdon and Smithfield, Holborn, Euston, Tottenham Court Road, Victoria and Arsenal/Holloway.
North London
This sub-region's areas for development are noted to be Upper Lea Valley, Tottenham Hale and Cricklewood/Brent Cross for high density business, retail and residential development.
London's more deprived wards extend through the Lea Valley to North London – Eastern Haringey and particularly Tottenham, together with South East Enfield, Edmonton and Leyton (next to Waltham Forest). The plan envisages that future development which would be stimulated by transport improvements in Stratford and Stansted Airport will contribute to alleviating some of the problems in this sub-region.
West London
The Plan recognises this area has a diverse economy including international businesses and some concentrations of manufacturing. Heathrow Airport continues to be a key driver of existing and future wealth. The areas for accommodating new homes and jobs are seen to be stretching from Paddington through to Park Royal, Wembley and on towards Heathrow. White City is also envisaged to be a significant growth area together with Willesden Junction and areas to the south of Heathrow.
South London
The Plan notes that development opportunities in South London are mostly 'small scale' and concentrated in existing town centres and across the Wandle Valley corridor. The transport schemes of the Croydon tram extension, Thameslink 2000, Cross Rail and a southern extension of the East London tube line should open up access and investment routes into the existing town centres. More particularly, Croydon Town Centre is London's largest metropolitan centre and one of the Capital's two strategic office centres outside Central London. That area should be able to accommodate further expansion.
East London and the Thames Gateway
This is the priority area for development, regeneration and infrastructure improvement. Much of the forecast growth in jobs and accommodation should be accommodated in the City Fringe, Isle of Dogs and Stratford. This is to be combined with the opportunities provided by the Olympic bid which would, if successful, provide an immediate catalyst for regeneration.
The arrival of Stratford International Railway station together with City and Stansted Airports, the Channel Tunnel and the Port of London provide the area with the opportunity to become the gateway to mainland Europe. Other areas such as the Royal Docks, Barking, Deptford Creek, the Greenwich Peninsular and Woolwich/Royal Arsenal offer significant opportunities for intensification of development and the creation of new jobs and homes.
Living in London
The Mayor wants the strategy for providing London housing to take into account the need to provide adequate accommodation, and he wants also to make sure that the new accommodation has access to key public services and local amenities. Residential development will need to be located so as to maximise the use of land and be within easy access of jobs, schools, shops and public transport.
The need for more housing is desperate – 30,000 additional households a year need to be created over the next fifteen years. The Mayor's housing commission also estimates that an additional 11,000 dwellings a year are needed in order to achieve the Government's objective of eliminating sub-standard housing within ten years. The need for affordable housing means that the Mayor has adopted the strategic target that half of all the additional housing should be affordable. The Plan accepts that a partnership approach is essential to delivery – housing and planning departments in London Boroughs and developers, together with Registered Social Landlords, need to work together.
Working in London
The Mayor's office has projected that London's underlying growth between 2004 and 2016 will produce a net overall increase in jobs to 636,000. Clearly this has serious implications for the provision of office space and in a range of types, sizes and cost.
Given the dominance of the office-base business sector in the Mayor's employment projections the Plan's view is that the availability of suitable office accommodation is a critical issue. In 2002 London's office stock totalled 27.4 million square metres; the Plan envisages a need for a further 7-9 million sq. m of office space by 2016. The Mayor's Transport Strategy indicated that part of the development potential cannot be realised without a significant increase in transport capacity in certain locations. As a result the Plan views it as being important to manage actively the transport programme and development approvals as well as encouraging mixed use development, involving both office and housing provision, alongside renovation and reuse of existing office space.
Implementation, monitoring and review
The Plan makes it plain that the Mayor's Office cannot deliver The London Plan alone. Achieving the vision for London requires partnership with a range of stakeholders including the Greater London Authority, London Boroughs, Central Government together with the private sector and voluntary and community sectors. Government policy and funding decisions are seen as critical in meeting London's needs and areas such as transport, housing, neighbouring renewal and the environment, and London's share of public expenditure over the 20 year period of the London Plan will need to properly reflect the role of London in the national economy. The Mayor will continue to draw upon expert advice from a range of stakeholders to consider policy issues that should be evolved throughout the life of the Plan, and he will consider setting up a long-term strategy study group to consider strategic planning issues.
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