London planning news, July 2018

On 25 June, the Mayor of London published the latest ‘Mayoral CIL2 Draft Charging Schedule’, alongside the ‘Supporting Information’ and the ‘summary of responses received’ documents.

The new Mayoral CIL 2 (MCIL2) preliminary draft and draft charging schedules have been previously consulted on in 2017 and 2018, The draft schedule is now submitted for Examination in Public, which will take place on 10-12 September 2018. 

MCIL2 will apply to most new developments in London granted planning permission, with the money raised from the levy contributing towards the funding of Crossrail 2.

This will supersede the current Crossrail S106 charge and existing MCIL, which will be brought to an end simultaneously with the start of MCIL2. 

The latest MCIL2 Draft Charging Schedule confirms the proposed charging rates for all developments that were included in the latest consultation document, these being as follows: 

• Band 1 – £80 per sqm
• Band 2 – £60 per sqm
• Band 3 – £25 per sqm

The proposed charging rates for office, retail and hotel in Central London and Isle of Dogs are also consistent with those proposed in the consultation document, these being: 

• Office – £185 per sqm
• Retail – £165 per sqm
• Hotel – £140 per sqm

Details on reliefs and exemptions, phasing and payment by instalments, and infrastructure to be funded by MCIL2, are included in the accompanying Explanatory Note.

It is currently expected that the charges will become effective from 1 April 2019, subject to Mayoral and Examiner approval.

 

 

On 4 June, the Mayor of London, Sadiq Khan, has called for a social housing tenant to be appointed by the Government as a national Commissioner for Social Housing Residents.

The Commissioner would monitor social housing policy and help to ensure that the needs and wishes of social housing tenants are adequately considered by national policymakers.

The Mayor’s proposal was first included in the draft London Housing Strategy, which sets out the Mayor's plans to improve the quality and affordability of homes in London.

On 6 June, a new Construction Academy was officially launched by the Mayor of London, with the intention to close the gap between the need for increased housing delivery and the shortage of skilled construction workers within the capital.

The Academy was launched alongside the Mayor’s Skills and Adult Education Strategy, the first to be published in London, which aims to ensure that Londoners have ‘the skills, education and training they need to succeed and help the capital’s economy to thrive’.

Developed with existing employees and industry experts, the Academy will operate as a dispersed network of skills providers, rather than a single centre.

High-quality construction skills training providers will be awarded with the Mayor’s Construction Academy ‘quality mark’, and companies and organisations awarded the quality, will be eligible to bid for funding that will help coordinate skills training with employers’ needs.

The Mayor of London has launched a new taskforce charged with ensuring that the infrastructure needed to increase the take up of electric vehicles across London is effectively in place.

As highlighted in his press release, the switch from diesel to electric vehicles will play an important role in helping the Mayor achieve his ambitious target of making London a zero-carbon city by 2050.

The taskforce will oversee the delivery of at least 150 TfL-funded rapid charge points, as well as new infrastructure in residential areas. The Mayor also hopes to push for the delivery of rapid charging ‘hubs’ (groups of charging points similar to petrol stations) across the city.

 

On 7 June, the Mayor of London released a digital map documenting the location of a range of music facilities across the city, including live music venues, rehearsal spaces and recording studios.

Previous research had revealed that London had lost half of its night clubs and a third of its music venues since 2002; however, new figures show that the number of grass roots venues has begun to stabilise.

The Mayor is encouraging local authorities to use the information to protect existing venues and to create the right environment for new venues to flourish.

On 25 June, the House of Commons voted in favour of the proposals for the expansion of Heathrow Airport set out in the Airports National Policy Statement (NPS). Following this, on 26 June Transport Secretary Chris Grayling formally designated the NPS.

The NPS sets out the Government’s policy on the need for extra airport capacity and infrastructure in the South East, and its preferred location and scheme for achieving this, which is a new north-west runway at Heathrow Airport.

The NPS will be used as the primary basis for decision making on development consent applications relating to the new runway at Heathrow, and will also be a material consideration when considering applications for extra runway capacity and infrastructure at other airports in the south east.

If the objectives of the NPS are delivered, Heathrow will see the construction of a runway at least 3,500m long, which will allow for a further 260,000 take-offs and landings each year.

It is understood that the next and formal stage of consultation ahead of the DCO application will take place later in 2018 at which time further information on possible impacts arising from the proposal will be made available for review. It has been suggested that construction of the runway could commence in 2021 with it being operational in 2026. 

In the build up to the vote, Transport Secretary Chris Grayling urged MPs to consider the positive impact that the expansion would have on the UK economy, opening up overseas markets, as well as creating thousands of new jobs within the UK. He also set out five pledges which would govern the future expansion:

• The scheme would be privately financed and come at no cost to taxpayers;
• It would provide significant boost to the economy, creating new international routes, more than 100,000 new jobs, doubled freight capacity and deliver benefits of up to £74 billion to passengers and the wider economy;
• It would bring wider benefits for the whole of the UK, with about 15% of new slots allocated for domestic routes, new rail links, and new global opportunities for regional business;
• Environmental protections would be built in, meeting existing air quality and climate change targets; and
• A legal protection on commitments, Heathrow’s pledges to be legally enforceable, with punishment of unlimited fines or grounded planes if broken.

Whilst the Commons voted 415 to 119, resulting in a majority of 296, the decision to expand Heathrow has faced significant opposition on a number of grounds, predominantly over costs, environmental concerns, and worries over the capacity of supporting infrastructure.

On the 7 June, the London Assembly agreed a motion asserting its opposition to the expansion of Heathrow Airport. Following the results of the vote, Chairman of the London Assembly, Tony Arbour AM, stated:

‘The London Assembly unanimously opposes the expansion of Heathrow airport on the grounds of air pollution, noise and the health impact it will have on Londoners. Together with the Mayor we shall seek to overturn this calamitous decision, which can only increase the environmental harm that the airport already creates.’

Opponents have a six-week window in which to challenge the decision through judicial review. The Mayor of London, Sadiq Khan, has already stated that he will join legal action brought by local councils against Heathrow Airport expansion.

London’s forthcoming Ultra-Low Emission Zone (ULEZ) is to expand its boundaries as far as the North and South Circulars in 2021, covering an area 18 times its current size, the Mayor of London confirmed.

The ULEZ, which is set to come into force in Central London from April 2019, will require the majority of motor vehicles to meet strict emission standards (ULEZ standards) or pay a daily ULEZ charge of £12.50.        

It is estimated that 100,000 cars, 35,000 vans and 3,000 lorries may be affected by the expansion of the ULEZ.

On 8 June, the Chair of the Transport Committee Caroline Pidgeon released a statement regarding Westminster Council’s decision to reject plans for the pedestrianisation of Oxford Street:

‘We note Westminster Council’s decision to take the pedestrianisation of Oxford Street ‘off the table for good’ and urge the Mayor to find a way to make it work, taking on board the concerns raised during the consultation process.

This was one of the Mayor’s flagship commitments and he needs to think again about how to make it happen.

The Committee believes the pedestrianisation of Oxford Street could transform the area for the better, but it must be done carefully, taking into account the needs of residents, people with disabilities and cyclists.’

On 11 June, at the launch of the 2018 London Tech Week, the Mayor of London Sadiq Khan presented a new city-wide initiative aimed at making London the world’s ‘smartest city’, and helping secure the capital’s global position as a leading tech hub.

In that occasion, the Mayor revealed his new report ‘Smarter London Together’ which will act as a flexible digital masterplan for the city. The report sets out a range of proposals that aim to boost user-centred design, data-sharing, infrastructure, skills and collaboration within the capital.

The Mayor’s plans include proposing planning powers for full fibre connectivity to all new homes, as well as working alongside Transport for London (TfL) and councils to roll out 4G using public buildings and existing physical infrastructure. The roadmap also includes plans to commission a new generation of smart technology, such as lamp posts incorporating air quality sensors, publicly-accessible WIFI and electric vehicle charging points.

Sadiq Khan commented:

‘As one of the world’s leading technology hubs, we need to be bold and think big, to experiment and try things out that have not been done elsewhere. I see London’s future as a global ‘test-bed city’ for civic innovation, where the best ideas are developed, amplified and scaled.’

 

On 21 June, the Mayor launched an online service allowing users to search for affordable homes to buy in the capital.

The new platform, aimed at the Londoners who cannot afford to buy a home on the open market, will list all new homes brought forward through City Hall’s affordable housing programmes.

The service will allow users to receive email alerts for the latest properties in their area; register their interest in homes; check eligibility; book viewings; and receive an online financial affordability assessment. Currently the platform lists 1,400 shared ownership and 230 Help-to-Buy properties, but will continue to be updated as new properties become available.

On 18 June, the Mayor of London Sadiq Khan announced that London Community Land Trust has been chosen to deliver two community-led housing schemes on former TfL sites.

The two schemes, brought forward through the Mayor’s pilot of the ‘Small Sites, Small Builders’ initiative, are expected to deliver around 70 new homes, 100% of which will be affordable.

Sadiq Khan commented:

‘Making small plots of public land available for housing development is a key part of addressing London’s housing shortage, and the fantastic response to the pilot of my ‘Small Sites, Small Builders’ programme has shown that these small sites can be an important way to get new genuinely affordable homes built.’