The next London Plan will be "streamlined" to ensure new housing schemes flourish across the capital, City Hall has said. The new development strategy, set to be published this summer before being adopted in 2028, could be "nearer to half the length" of the current one formulated in 2021, according to the Deputy Mayor for Planning.
Streamlining Rules for Developers
The intended outcome would see a less complex set of rules for developers, making schemes—especially on smaller sites—more economically viable. The Greater London Authority (GLA) is currently falling short of achieving both affordable housing targets and wider housebuilding goals set by the government. However, reforms announced this week will seek to make the plan "clearer and easier to navigate for the housing industry and councils, stripping away duplication and simplifying policies that have been interpreted oppressively by boroughs," officials said.
"Alongside the Mayor's wider efforts, this will mean more homes are built, particularly social and affordable housing, and it will encourage a diverse range of innovative builders to deliver more homes in the capital."
More Interventionist Approach
Officials will also be far more "interventionist" when calling in rejected planning applications, allowing City Hall to ultimately have the final say on new homes over councils in many cases. A City Hall source said: "We're starting to see the green shoots of housing delivery once again, but we need to go a lot further. Bringing forward a much leaner London Plan and being far more interventionist on call-ins should make a real difference."
Speaking at the UKREiiF conference in Leeds this week, Deputy Mayor for Planning Jules Pipe said: "Building more homes, particularly social and affordable homes, is a top priority for the Mayor. It's a moral duty for us all to tackle the crisis in homelessness and make housing more affordable for working Londoners—that's why we're using all the powers at our disposal to get more homes built. That means a significantly streamlined London Plan with bold new policies and being even more active through direct intervention to unblock housebuilding, as we build a fairer, greener London for everyone."
Criticism of Current Plan
The current London Plan was criticised in 2024 by former Housing Secretary Michael Gove, who commissioned a review into its effectiveness. It suggested that a proposal to construct new homes on "a relatively straightforward case of a brownfield site," free from special protections, would require the applicant to consult a minimum of 45 policies. "There is just so much to navigate and negotiate that it should come as no surprise that wending one's way through the application process is expensive and time-consuming, particularly for SMEs who deliver the majority of London's homes," the report stated.
Instructions to review parts of the London Plan were scrapped by the current Labour government shortly after entering office that same year, however, with the Ministry for Housing suggesting a new "partnership approach" to improve housing delivery in London.
New Powers for City Hall
Last year, ministers struck a deal with City Hall to allow them to impose a time-limited affordability quota reduction on developers from 35 to 20 per cent. At the conference, Deputy Mayor for Housing Tom Copley claimed that new powers secured through the English Devolution and Community Act passed last month will allow City Hall a lower threshold for calling in applications. It will also give the Mayor renewed powers to grant planning permission through Mayoral Development Orders. It is understood that officials have been instructed to scope out major brownfield sites near transport hubs that could benefit from this.
James Small-Edwards, Labour's Spokesperson for Planning on the London Assembly, told the Local Democracy Reporting Service (LDRS): "This renewed commitment to tackle London's housing crisis and deliver genuinely affordable homes for Londoners is great news. I'm clear that the housing crisis is the biggest issue facing London. We need to pull every lever available to deliver more homes at prices Londoners can afford. The Mayor was elected on a clear platform to build homes and if some London boroughs aren't pulling their weight, I fully support the Mayor stepping in to get more homes built."
