Policy 2.2 London and the wider metropolitan area

Strategic

A The Mayor and the GLA Group will, and other relevant agencies (particularly boroughs and sub-regional partnerships) should, work with regional, and sub-regional partnerships, local authorities and agencies in the East and South East of England to secure the sustainable development and management of growth in the wider metropolitan area and the greater south east of England and to co-ordinate approaches to other strategic issues of common concern.

B The Mayor is committed to working with the planning authorities in the South East and the East of England regions through suitable arrangements to be established with local authorities and other appropriate partners.

C The Mayor will work with partners in neighbouring regions and appropriate parts of London to broadly align approaches (and, where appropriate, planning policy frameworks) and to lobby for timely and sufficient investment to realise the potential of, and address the challenges facing, the city region as a whole and areas within it (particularly the growth areas and corridors referred to in Policy 2.3), especially those dealing with population and economic growth, infrastructure and climate change.

D Through this process the Mayor will seek to ensure that:

a appropriate resources, particularly for transport (including ports and logistics) and other infrastructure (including open space, health, education and other services) are made available to secure the optimum development of the growth areas and corridors as a whole and those parts which lie within London

b common policies and procedures are followed to ensure that there is, so far as possible, a ‘level playing field’ particularly adjacent to London’s boundaries. This will help to promote spatially balanced and sustainable economic growth, and to meet housing, energy and sustainability targets, and standards such as those for parking

c integrated policies are developed for adaptation to and mitigation of climate change, logistics provision and the adaptation of shared infrastructure

d jointly owned policies are developed to help rationalise commuting patterns, both at different times of the day and to encourage reverse commuting where appropriate, including the promotion of public transport improvements to enhance access to key destinations

e integration is achieved with other strategies to ensure that appropriate skills training is available and other barriers to work are overcome

f common monitoring data are collected, reviewed and assessed on a regular basis with neighbouring local authorities, as appropriate

g reviews of the London Plan have regard to relevant plans and strategies of neighbouring local authorities

LDF preparation

E In preparing and implementing DPDs, boroughs (particularly those in outer London) should work with authorities and agencies in neighbouring regions outside Greater London to develop common approaches to issues of cross-border significance.

2.12 London is at the centre of a city-region covering a large part of south east England, home to some 22.7 million people (of which 8.2 million are in London and 14.5 million in the Rest of the South East (ROSE)) and some 12.1 million jobs (of which 4.9 million are in London and 7.2 million in ROSE). This is a rapidly growing and developing area; over the period 2011-2036 the city-region is likely to see a 20 per cent growth in population (23 per cent growth in London and 19 per cent in ROSE) and 17 per cent growth in jobs (18 per cent growth in London and 17 per cent in ROSE).^[1] Numbers of households in the city-region are projected to grow by 27% over the period 2011 to 2033^[2] (the same rate of growth in both London and ROSE).

2.13 London exerts a substantial effect over south-east England. It is inextricably linked with this wider region, whether looked at in terms of patterns of employment, skills and education, housing markets, town centres and planning for retail, airport policy, patterns of commuting, responding to environmental challenges like climate change, management of resources like water and energy, Green Belt, waterways and open spaces or the handling of waste. For all these reasons, and in accordance with the new statutory duty to co-operate (see paragraph 1.46), the Mayor intends to work closely with agencies and authorities in neighbouring regions to develop and implement policies on these and other issues to help facilitate the sustainable management of growth. The Mayor wishes to see effective arrangements in place for effective planning for the London city region and to support cross-boundary work where appropriate. He will work with neighbouring planning authorities and others to this end. The GLA has set up an officer working group to discuss strategic spatial planning issues that are relevant to local authorities and counties surrounding London.

2.14 While the Mayor will promote inter-regional work on key strategic issues, engagement at a more local or sub-regional level will also be important, in line with the duty to co-operate. The Mayor will encourage and support this more locally-led engagement, especially on matters in which he has a particular responsibility (such as transport) and in realising the potential of growth and coordination corridors (see Policy 2.3).

^[1] GLA Economics. Estimates based on GLA Economics employment projections, 2011 Workforce Jobs (ONS), and Working Futures 2010-2020 (UKCES)

^[2] DCLG 2008-based household projections; GLA household projections