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London Plan approved by government after year delay

The government has approved Sadiq Khan’s London Plan, after nearly a year since it was first rejected by the housing secretary.

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Picture: Getty
Picture: Getty
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The London Plan has finally been approved after the first draft was rejected by the housing secretary last year #ukhousing

The mayor’s office confirmed today that the plan, which outlines the mayor’s development strategy for the capital, has been approved by Robert Jenrick after nearly 10 months of back and forth between both parties.

The mayor submitted his first draft London Plan to the housing secretary in December 2019 with an intention to publish in the early part of 2020. However, it was met with a scathing rebuke from Mr Jenrick last March, who labelled it inadequate and ordered 11 changes to be made before approval.

Included in these changes was a call for a wider focus on family-sized dwellings, with the housing secretary suggesting that the original plan had too much focus on “one-bed flats to the expense of everything else”. He also criticised Mr Khan for his “over restrictive” stance on development in industrial land.

The London Plan is a statutory strategy prepared by the mayor which must set out his office’s policies in respect of development and land use, but must adhere to national policies around planning. Under the rules of the London Plan, the mayor must get approval from the government over the policies put forward. The plan will remain in place for the next five years.


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A second draft plan was put to the government by the mayor’s office in the second half of last year. Mr Jenrick again ordered changes, which included prioritising homes on industrial land and changes around planning permissions for tall buildings.

The direction by Mr Jenrick suggested that such developments only be brought forward in appropriate and clearly defined areas.

Speaking today, Mr Khan called the delays in signing off the plan “completely unnecessary” and said it had done real harm to confidence in key industries and impacted the delivery of new homes in the capital.

The plan contains rules and guidance around the delivery of homes in London, including supporting ‘tenure-blind’ development and trying to avoid ‘poor doors’.

There have been a number of instances of poor-door developments in recent years, where social housing tenants are not provided with the same facilities or standard of living environment as private tenants.

The plan will also support councils to maximise affordable housing in new developments, with greater transparency around viability assessments, as well as rules around ensuring new developments have better accessibility for those with disabilities or mobility issues.

The acceptance of the London Plan was formally put forward in a letter from Mr Jenrick today. In the letter he said that despite him being happy with the modifications the mayor had made on the back of his instruction, London still has a long way to go to meet its full housing need, adding that Mr Khan’s plan “clearly and starkly fails to do that”.

Mr Jenrick added: “Londoners deserve better and I will be seeking to work with those ambitious London boroughs who want to deliver over and above the housing targets you have set them – something that would not have been possible without my early directions.”

Last year the government delivered 41,700 homes and under the Greater London Authority’s assessment, but the mayor’s office suggested that the new London Plan should have the capacity to deliver 65,878 homes a year.

This was pared down 52,000 hones a year by planning inspectors after a review last year.

However, all these numbers are well below the 93,579 homes that was put forward as the number of homes a year London must deliver under its new devised housing need targets published last month.

Commenting on the plan, Mr Khan said: “I’m delighted that I’m finally able to confirm my London Plan – the framework to help build a city which works for all Londoners.

“Businesses, boroughs, developers and London’s communities desperately need the certainty of the new plan, even more so during the recovery from the enormous impact of the coronavirus pandemic.

“The completely unnecessary delay in signing off my plan – which I sent to the secretary of state more than a year ago – has done real harm to confidence in key industries and among Londoners right across the capital, including the work to build more homes.

“Finally, we can now get on with doing everything in our power to increase housing delivery and addressing the appalling legacy of the previous administration.”

An MHCLG spokesperson said: These claims about delay are misleading. When the Mayor only sent his plan to the Secretary of State for his consideration in December 2019 it was, as judged by a panel of three independent planning inspectors, inconsistent with national planning policy.

“We look forward to the London Plan being published – Londoners deserve better and we hope this plan will help see the homes they need, delivered.”

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