I’ve lived in London for over 50 years and have links to many campaigns in the city.  We are appalled by what so-called 'planning' is doing to London.  

THE LONDON PLAN

This is what it says on page 2 of the draft London Plan:

‘Many Londoners won’t know about or have come across the London Plan, but it shapes their lives on a daily basis. It is one of the most crucial documents for our city, and what it contains shapes how London evolves and develops over coming years’. 

https://www.london.gov.uk/sites/default/files/draft_london_plan_-_consolidated_changes_version_-_clean_july_2019.pdf

This is the new London Plan which, at this very moment, is being considered by Planning Inspectors.  They will produce a report in September 2019 with any recommended changes and it will then be sent to the Mayor of London and the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government for ratification.  Londoners need to say NO! to this Plan.  ENOUGH IS ENOUGH!  

This Plan does not fulfil its Public Sector Equality Duty, which means it should eliminate discrimination and enhance equality between people.  Instead, it will make inequality in London even worse.  If this Plan is passed, we want to challenge it in the courts through judicial review.  We need a new Plan for London, one that will stop what is happening currently.  We need a Plan that works for all of London's residents, not just the wealthy.

Some reasons why this Plan is wrong and should  be challenged:

BIG SITES

·         The most deprived areas in London are targeted and labelled as Strategic Areas for Regeneration and Opportunity Areas.  This is where high rise, high density buildings are encouraged to achieve huge housing unit targets 

·         Town centres, council estates, High Roads, retails parks and leisure infrastructure are termed ‘brownfield land’, ripe for demolishing and redevelopment.

·         The flats produced will mostly be sold, off-plan, to buy-to-let investors.  This will further hike up the price of housing in the area. 

·         There is little family housing, which is the greatest need in London, yet hotels are encouraged.

·         Mostly no parking is allocated to developments, leading to parking stress on pavements and flouting of parking laws.  Despite no parking, other factors will lead to increases in pollution in these already heavily polluted areas

·         Although cycling is seen as a primary mode of transport, scant regard is given to safe cycling infrastructure 

SMALL SITES AND OFFICES

Every little scrap of spare land is encouraged to be used for housing by:

·         converting houses into flats

·         back garden dwellings;

·         building on top of existing dwellings

·         in-fills where there is space between buildings

·         using shipping containers for the homeless;

·         converting office space to housing units without the need for planning permission, leading to extremely small living spaces

This creates run down areas, where people who struggle with the prevailing rents, have to live in sub-standard and overcrowded rooms.  The London councils also house many vulnerable people in these areas, creating easy targets for drug dealers and organized crime networks.

INFRASTRUCTURE

·         Schools will be crammed into tiny footprints with playgrounds on the roof, next to busy, highly-polluted roads.  

·         Much new infrastructure is proposed on just one site, a so-called hub, which also has flats associated with it.  Existing infrastructure is considered unnecessary as it is replaced by this hub.

AFFORDABLE HOUSING

·         The target of 50% of 'affordable' homes in the Plan is a pipe-dream.  Without proper controls, developers will continue to use VIABILITY ASSESSMENTS to get out of as much ‘affordable' housing as they can. 

·         Much of the so-called ‘affordable’ housing is shared ownership or other tenures, requiring very high salaries and big deposits to access. 

·         The greatest need is for homes at truly affordable rents but this Plan will only produce a very small fraction of what is actually needed.

·         Many Londoners will continue to be forced to live in poor housing conditions, or be pushed out of London altogether.  This will  lead to less inclusive and diverse neighbourhoods and cause families and individuals physical and mental harm.

FOR THESE REASONS AND MUCH BESIDES, PLEASE JOIN WITH US TO SAY NO! TO THIS PLAN

 

"Hand-drawn Map of London" by Jenni Sparks is licensed under CC BY-NC-ND 4.0