The GLA 2016-based Household Projections

Earlier this month, the GLA published its latest round of population and household projections for London, but for the first time included corresponding projections for the rest of the country.

The current London Plan is based on the London Strategic Housing Market Assessment (SHMA), which concluded that growth seen in London in the recession was higher than expected, and it would be reasonable to assume some return to longer term trends when planning for housing in London.

However, these projections represented a deviation from the official projections, which draw upon short term trends. This presents a practical difficulty for plan-making purposes, and different SHMAs (and Local Plan Inspectors) have attempted to grapple with the subject, with varying outcomes. Here, we take a look at what the GLA projections show, and what this could mean for planning across England.