News
London planning news, May 2021
13 May 2021
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Sadiq Khan wins Mayoral elections
On 8 May 2021, Labour Party candidate Sadiq Khan was re-elected as Mayor of London following the results of the Mayor of London and London Assembly elections, which took place on 6 May. This is Khan’s second term as Mayor, having first been elected in 2016.
Khan received 1,206,034 votes, with Conservative candidate Sean Bailey receiving the second-most, gaining 977,601 votes in total. Labour did lose 2 seats in the London Assembly, with the Green Party and Conservatives gaining one additional seat each. In comparison with the 2016 elections, voter turnout fell by four points, to 42% of those eligible to vote.
Khan’s manifesto for leadership is based around five core key principles, which include boosting the delivery of affordable housing in the capital, implementing a green new deal, investment in public transport, promoting fairness and equality, and “standing up for London's liberal, open values and fighting for the extra powers and the resources the city needs and deserves”.
The general direction for planning and development in London looks set to continue for the time being, with the Mayor highlighting the significance of his recently published London Plan in supporting the delivery of these objectives. Given previous comments from the Secretary of State, the Mayor is expected to establish a review of the London Plan imminently, in order to “bridge the significant gap between the housing it seeks to deliver and the actual acute housing need London faces.”
The key points on housing and development in the Mayor’s manifesto focus on affordability, inclusivity, and placemaking more generally, raising some of the issues that the COVID-19 panic has highlighted.
“The challenges of the last year have shown us the importance of vibrant, accessible and inclusive public spaces, affordable and spacious new homes and easy and accessible active travel. My Plan will deliver the safer, healthier, greener, fairer London I promised in 2016 and goes further in meeting the challenges of climate change, clean air, better connectivity and places we are proud to live, work and socialise in.
Khan also promised Londoners that regeneration projects funded by City Hall will be required contribute to a more socially integrated London. The new London Plan already sets a challenging policy context for those developing within the Capital, with a general tightening of requirements in line with the Mayor’s Good Growth objectives. In light of the effects the pandemic has had on London’s cultural and community assets, the Mayor has also said he will continue to work with his Culture at Risk team to “ensure that valuable community cultural and night-time assets aren’t lost to development, planning changes or the impacts of the pandemic”.
Furthermore, Khan has also sought to fight for further devolution of powers and additional funding for City Hall:
“I’ll continue to stand up for London by fighting for the reforms and investment in housing we desperately need. I’ll campaign for the billions more we need from the Government every year to build more genuinely affordable homes, especially homes for social rent. I’ll push the Government to devolve new ‘use it or lose it’ powers so that developers don’t sit on their hands instead of building new homes that already have planning permission.”
Under the Greater London Authority Act 1999, the Mayor is responsible for strategic planning, transport, policing and fire services in the Greater London area. Rental controls and regulation currently remain outside of the powers of the Mayor, however, another point driven home by the Communities Secretary, Robert Jenrick, last year.
On transport, the Mayor said he will continue to lobby Government for further investment, “prioritising the DLR Extension to Thamesmead, and, when the time is right again, the Bakerloo Line Extension and Crossrail 2”. The Mayor has also confirmed he will work with TFL to develop a transport strategy for outer London’s suburbs, in recognition of the unique challenges these parts of the capital face in terms of connectivity and accessibility.
In a separate press release issued on 11 May, the Mayor confirmed senior staff appointments at City Hall, including:
- Deputy Mayor for Planning, Regeneration and Skills – Jules Pipe
- Deputy Mayor for Transport - Heidi Alexander
- Deputy Mayor for Business - Rajesh Agrawal
- Deputy Mayor for Environment and Energy - Shirley Rodrigues
- Deputy Mayor for Housing and Residential Development - Tom Copley
- Deputy Mayor for Culture and the Creative Industries – Justine Simons
- Deputy Mayor for Fire and Resilience and Chair of the London Resilience Forum - Fiona Twycross
- Deputy Mayor for Communities and Social Justice – Debbie Weekes-Bernard
London Elects, Results 2021Sadiq for London 2021, Sadiq's manifesto for 2021Mayor of London, Mayor announces key senior appointments
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Quote of the month |
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I will work to strengthen the bonds that hold together our truly diverse city. I will focus on what unites us and our shared hopes and dreams for the future, rather than what divides us. And I will reach out to the Government so that we can work constructively for the benefit of London and the whole country.
Sadiq Khan, Mayor of London signing-in speech at The Globe |
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Action plan sets vision for ‘new normal’ in the City of London
In response to the COVID-19 pandemic and other longer-term economic and social trends, the City of London Corporation has published a new five-year action plan, aimed at supporting the recovery and transformation of the Square Mile, intended to retain and bolster its status as a “world class business ecosystem of thriving businesses, benefitting from unmatched innovation and growth opportunities”.
The Corporation’s strategy seeks to build upon three key foundations of the City’s existing offer, “fostering an innovative ecosystem for businesses and talent; ensuring a vibrant offer that engages workers, visitors, learners and residents; and delivering outstanding environments that support people and businesses with sustainable buildings, high quality streets and public spaces”.
The plan looks to better support and develop synergies within the City’s business ecosystem, enabling growth sectors including technology and sciences, to develop and grow within the City, while encouraging greater linkages between these sectors and the City’s more traditional financial services offer.
To ensure the vitality and appeal to both business, residents and visitors, other key actions include the continued investment in the City’s public realm, public transport, cycling and freight connections. Emphasis on programming of events across its streets and public spaces is also intended to help attract visitors outside of traditional office opening hours, while support will be given to retain and build a vibrant offer of hospitality, retail, culture, tourism and recreation.
In response to its own environmental targets of reaching net-zero by 2040, alongside the accelerated change in how businesses operate in the City of London, the Corporation is also seeking to enable and promote the development of more sustainable, flexible and adaptable types of buildings. The report says that “new developments and refurbishments will provide high-quality, convivial spaces in buildings with a low environmental footprint”.
Further to this, the report also says that the Corporation is to “explore new ways to use vacant space and aim for at least 1,500 new residential units by 2030”. While the Financial Times and other media outlets had reported this as the City looking to “tilt the balance” away from its primary business role, Catherine McGuinness, Policy Chair, City of London Corporation rebuked the comments in a letter addressed to the newspaper.
“The success of the City has been built on the benefits of agglomeration, and offices remain at the core of our recovery plan. We have committed to growing high quality office floorspace by a minimum of two million square metres during the period 2016 to 2036 in our draft City Plan.
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“We are unwavering in our confidence that the City office market will prove resilient. This confidence is underpinned by strong demand from developers and investors. Senior leaders at businesses have told us that they remain committed to the City as the premier place to bring staff together to innovate, collaborate, learn and socialise.”
The Corporation has said it is set to “rise to the challenge of adapting to the new normal that emerges after the pandemic”.
Further to this, the Corporation has also appointed Gwyn Richards as Planning and Development Director, following 12-months holding the appointment on an interim basis.
In related news, a number of councillors have launched a petition, following accusations of conflicts of interest by members of the City’s Planning and Transport Committee . The group has claimed this conflict has led to poor decisions being made, with ‘reasonable objections’ made on planning grounds being ignored by members, specifically in regards to proposals for taller buildings and the blight these are alleged to have on neighbouring properties and/or to the harm perceived to designated heritage assets.
The group claims that the conflict has arisen due to a majority of councillors being elected by small numbers of voters appointed by businesses, with voter turnout being particularly low. In addition to this, some members of the Planning and Transportation Committee are also noted as being members of committees which represent the Corporation’s property interests.
The petition calls for the Corporation to reject a proposal for planning applications to be decided by panels of the Planning and Transportation Committee, arguing instead of by the whole Committee, while also preventing councillors with professional associations within the property development industry, as well as those who sit on committees that represent the Corporation’s property interests,
City of London Corporation, The Square Mile: Future CityLetter to the Financial Times on future of City officesCity of London, Item X - Petition
Trial runs begin on the Elizabeth Line as a number of key stations and infrastructure reach completion
Progress on the opening of the new Elizabeth Line has taken a significant step forward, with Crossrail Ltd having now begun the trial running of trains along part of the new network.
With the new line set to open in the first half of 2022, the trial runs mark a crucial milestone for the project, with multiple trains operating across the central operating section, ensuring that the line is capable of reliably meeting the capacity, timetabling, and integration with other parts of the network.
Crossrail Ltd have confirmed that much of the infrastructure for this central section of the network has now reached completion, with the fit-out of many stations underway, and ownership and management of infrastructure being passed over to TFL. Once this central section of the network is opened up, full services across the Elizabeth Line will be introduced, from Reading and Heathrow in the west to Abbey Wood and Shenfield on the eastern part of the line.
Crossrail Ltd, Crossrail Project Update
Southwark Council introduces new tool to monitor the provision affordable housing
As the use of planning data becomes increasingly standardised and automated, Southwark Council has published a new monitoring tool for tracking the delivery and supply of affordable housing within the borough.
Every affordable home in Southwark is now expected to be assigned to a unique reference number once planning permission is granted, this will allow its progress and tenure agreement to be tracked, from completion through to occupation and thereafter.
With the data being in the public-domain, the new tools is intended to provide greater transparency and accountability, while also allowing the Council to better monitor its progress in meeting its target of delivering 35% affordable housing on major developments, creating 11,000 new social rented homes by 2043.
In other recent news, the Greater London Authority (GLA) also launched its Development Data Hub, providing live information on development proposals across the capital, including data on the numbers of new homes, GIA, habitable rooms, maximum storey height, and parking provision.
LB Southwark, Affordable housing monitoring
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