Jules Pipe
Deputy Mayor of London for Planning Regeneration and SkillsWith London’s population projected to reach 10m by 2050, tackling the housing crisis, achieving economic growth, and addressing climate change will remain fundamental to Sadiq Khan’s next London Plan.
The new Government’s commitment to removing the barriers to housing development and growth is welcome support for the Mayor’s continued focus on the capital’s economy and delivering the affordable homes that Londoners need. Sustainable success for London and the UK will rely on policies that decouple housing delivery and growth from an increase in the use of resources and carbon emissions.
A modern, green city embeds sustainability into its growth ambition, and the London Plan provides for this through successful, coordinated strategic planning with its Good Growth objectives. These core values provide a policy framework for delivering growth that is socially and economically inclusive and environmentally sustainable.
Carbon Reduction
Cities, rather than nations, are at the forefront of introducing innovative policy, and London has a strong track record of reducing carbon emissions and requiring developments to achieve higher environmental standards than those set by Westminster. The current Plan was ground-breaking in its approach to climate change and environmental sustainability, alongside its push for affordable housing. It sets a Net Zero carbon target for major developments, which are required to achieve a 35 per cent minimum regulated carbon emission reduction above current building regulations, with the remainder able to be offset.
Retrofit vs Demolition, and a Circular Economy
In a city that rightly adopts a “brownfield first” approach, the proposed redevelopment of Marks and Spencer’s Oxford Street flagship store reflects the issues that we will need to consider as we weigh up decisions on retrofit versus retention. While it should be the starting point, retaining a building will not always be the right decision. In some cases, the more sustainable outcome will involve dismantling and reusing building materials onsite and elsewhere, constructing a more energy-efficient building with lower operational carbon emissions.
With construction, demolition, and excavation activities accounting for more than half of London’s annual waste stream, some 10m tonnes, our Plan requirements on developers for construction and building usage data will prove invaluable for developing future policies on embodied carbon.
Material re-use reflects the drive for environmental sustainability that is embedded through the Plan’s pioneering policies on the Circular Economy and Whole Life Cycle Carbon, which seek to ensure we are promoting the most efficient and low-carbon use of both land and resources.
Green by Design
Successful, sustainable design is about much more than aesthetics or “beauty”, a subjective term now dropped by the new Government. Good planning should help solve problems and prevent new ones. London is already the model for a green city, but there are further opportunities to help nature recover and make it richer in biodiversity. The Urban Greening Factor policies in the Plan help integrate greening into developments to deliver new green cover and space and increase climate resilience and access to nature in areas where people live and work.
These, and other future-proofing policies in the Plan, promote health and wellbeing and high-quality homes and commercial spaces that will reduce the impact of fuel poverty on households, the overheating of buildings, and water stress.
Grey Green Belt
Any consideration of green belt release, however “grey” the space, should be through a strategic approach that seeks to both optimise wider public benefits and restore natural habitats. The release of ad hoc sites in the past for high-carbon, car-dependent, and low-density developments does not represent good growth or optimise the use of land, nor is it aligned with the Mayor’s vision to make London a greener, more nature-rich city.
A proper master plan approach to urban extensions or new towns should be considered. This must capture development value uplift for reinvestment in public benefits, enabling infrastructure and the delivery of affordable housing.
Mobility and Sustainable Cities
Investment in infrastructure will be key to enabling the UK to become an exemplary Net Zero nation. The enhancement and expansion of TfL’s network will always be at the heart of London’s physical and economic growth, and it must be used to drive forward the sustainability of the capital to both densify brownfield sites and ensure any grey belt sites are sustainable.
A Liveable, Compact City
In a global city such as London, where land is scarce, the most sustainable way to realise our affordable housing and growth ambitions and achieve Net Zero is to use the planning system to deliver a well-designed, relatively dense urban form with liveable, mixed-use neighbourhoods that genuinely seek to optimise economic, social, and environmental outcomes. Government reforms aligning with this vision for the capital would be a welcome and sustainable leap forward.
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