Mayor doubles time to clear housing backlog

However, the housing targets set in the draft Further Alterations to the London Plan fall short of meeting the capital’s need.

If London is going to deliver its housing targets, then it must become denser. The Planning Committee will meet tomorrow Tuesday 11th March to ask fundamental questions about density, such as how it should be measured and whether London can meet its housing need without turning into a high-rise city.

Nicky Gavron, Chair of the Planning Committee, said:

“London is a relatively low-density city and it will need to become denser to accommodate our rapidly growing population. The Planning Committee will ask how we can do that without sacrificing the character of our built environment, and ensuring we get high-quality new homes in mixed developments with the infrastructure and amenity needed to make them pleasant and practical place to live.”

Tomorrow, the London Assembly Planning Committee will question the following guests about how London’s housing density is being managed in response to rapid population growth and the need for more homes in the capital. 

The Committee will question the following guests:

• Nicholas Boys Smith, Director, Create Street; 

• Andy von Bradsky, Chairman PRP Architects and Chair RIBA Housing Group; 

• David Berkbeck, Chief Executive, Design for Homes; 

• Will McKee CBE, Chair Tilfen Land and the Urban Exposure Group and Chair of the Mayor’s Outer London Commission; 

•Colin Wilson, GLA, Senior Manager Planning Decisions; and

•Richard Lavington, Maccreanor Lavington Architects.

The meeting will take place on Tuesday 11th March from 10am in Committee Room 5 at City Hall (The Queen’s Walk, London SE1 2AA).