London planning news, April 2018
03 Apr 2018
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Headline news |
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London to receive £1.7bn of funding for affordable housing
On 13 March, as part of the Spring Statement announcements, Chancellor Phillip Hammond pledged £1.7bn of funding to build more affordable homes in London. This will help to fund a further 26,000 affordable homes in the capital, and will take the Mayor of London’s housing budget for the period up until 2022 to £4.8bn.
Mayor of London Sadiq Khan has also secured an agreement with the Government, ensuring that two thirds of the additional homes built will be for rent, with the rent set at social rent levels.
Despite the Greater London Authority receiving 60% of the Treasury’s budget for this period, City Hall has reacted negatively, stating the funding ‘does not go anywhere near far enough.'
Mayor of London, Spring Statement fails to rise to the challenge facing Britain
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Quote of the month |
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| Mayor of London, Sadiq Khan, commenting on the Chancellor’s Spring Statement announcements | ||
GLA’s consultation response raises concerns over new London Plan
Members of the Greater London Authority (GLA) Planning Committee have raised questions over the effectiveness of guidance on cross-boundary planning in their written response to the draft London Plan. Whilst the Committee has given its support for planning across boundaries, it has requested that policy SD2 is amended:
‘[…] to establish a more formalised arrangement that might provide confidence to authorities outside London that taking some additional growth would be supported by the Mayor in terms of assistance with new infrastructure provision.’
In addition, the Assembly has raised concerns relating to density and building heights. The Committee has called for the Mayor to take a tougher stance on tall buildings, suggesting the Mayor sets up a ‘Skyline Commission’. Problems around target-setting for small sites are also pointed out, with the Committee raising doubts about how this would work in practice.
London Assembly Planning Committee, London Plan consultation
Mayor falling behind on housing targets
The latest figures released by the GLA reveal that the Mayor Sadiq Khan is falling behind on his affordable housing delivery targets. Khan’s target was to build between 12,500 and 16,500 affordable homes in the first year of his mayoralty, with this figure expected to increase thereafter.
The numbers released by the GLA however state that only 6,725 affordable homes were delivered in the 11 months since the Mayor’s scheme was launched - this figure being over 2,000 lower than that for the previous financial year, when 8,935 affordable homes were delivered.
Greater London Authority, Housing Starts on Site and Completions
£24m pledged to support community led regeneration
Sadiq Khan has pledged £24m in funding to a range of community projects across the capital. The funding is aimed at helping to give local people a stake in the regeneration of their local communities.
The Mayor of London commented:
‘I am using this funding to challenge preconceptions about how regeneration takes place. I want to give all Londoners – regardless of background – the opportunity to be actively involved in their city and have more places to live, learn, work and play.’
The Mayor’s Good Growth Fund received over 200 initial bids for funding, with 27 of these projects now awarded financial support. The projects to have received funding include the Mount View drama and theatre school, the skating space in the under-croft of the South Bank centre, and the Contemporary Arts and Learning centre in Herne Hill.
The funding is hoped to bring about greater economic and social improvements to local communities, whilst also bringing people together and expanding the culture on offer.
Mayor of London, Mayor awards £24m for local communities to play a role in regeneration
Public support for Oxford Street pedestrianisation
Plans to pedestrianise the eastern end of Oxford Street have been supported by around half of the respondents in a recent consultation held by Transport for London (TfL).
TfL’s vision for Oxford Street aims to make it easier to walk throughout the area, creating safe, accessible and well-designed public spaces, whilst addressing issues around road safety and poor air quality in the area. The improvements also aim to boost local businesses, and improve capacity and the quality of the public realm ahead of the opening of the Elizabeth Line later this year.
Of the 12,000 respondents to the consultation, around 43% were in favour of the scheme going ahead, 19% supported the scheme although they had some concerns that needed to be addressed, whilst 30% said they were not in favour.
TfL and Westminster Council are to review the feedback over the coming months, before moving forward with the plans.
City of Westminster, Oxford Street Transformation, consultation response
Mayor launches 10 Creative Enterprise Zones across the capital
The Mayor of London has kick started the Creative Enterprise Zones programme, announcing a shortlist of ten boroughs that will receive funding to develop and promote local culture.
The initiative aims to bring together artists, local businesses and landowners to create new jobs, establish and secure new spaces for creative activities, as well as creating opportunities for young people to participate and engage in emerging creative sectors.
The Mayor has been described as having placed culture at the core of the new draft London Plan, and has introduced a range of measures to protect and enhance the night time economy, bringing in the agent of change principle and appointing the night time Czar to protect and enhance the night time economy.
Mayor of London, Mayor announces shortlist for first-ever Creative Enterprise Zones
Draft Culture Strategy launched alongside grant funding for grass-roots cultural projects
On 23 March, Mayor of London Sadiq Khan launched his draft Culture Strategy, ‘Culture for All Londoners’. The Mayor has maintained in this latest publication that London is to continue to be a world-leading cultural destination, whilst improving access for Londoners to participate in culture at the local level.
Deputy Mayor for Culture and the Creative Industries, Justin Simons, stated:
‘Our draft Culture Strategy recognises the central role culture plays in the capital’s success – as well as its economic contribution, it drives tourism, improves the quality of our lives and our health and it brings us together.’
The draft Strategy contains several planning-related policies, including plans to protect affordable workspace, promoting high quality architecture and design, and protecting London’s diverse historic environment.
The Mayor has also launched the Culture Seeds programme, which will provide £1 million in small grants for community-run cultural projects that would not normally have access to funding, as well as establish Creative Land Trusts, aimed at keeping creative workspace affordable in perpetuity.
The related consultation closes on 19 June.
Mayor of London, Mayor launches new culture strategy with small grants for bright ideas
London Assembly Committee publishes report on London’s cycling infrastructure
The London Assembly Transport Committee has published the report, ‘London’s Cycling Infrastructure’. The report focuses on a number of key issues including: the effectiveness of the Super Cycle Highway routes; difficulties in cycling between outer London boroughs; safety concerns inhibiting cycling growth in outer London; and the emergence of dock-less bikes within the capital.
The Chairman of the Transport Committee, Keith Price, commented:
‘London will not become a cycle-friendly city overnight. It will take sustained political effort over many years to build a network that people of all ages and abilities will want to use.’
The London Assembly Transport Committee, Nothing Super about cycling plans for London
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The Lichfields perspective |
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| Giorgio Wetzl, Policy Researcher | ||
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