This meeting took place on 11 March 2014. Read the transcript here.
The Mayor has opted to clear London’s backlog of housing need over 20 years instead of the 10 years he initially proposed [1], the Planning Committee heard last month from a Greater London Authority Official. 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).
Media and members of the public are invited to attend.
The meeting can also be viewed via webcast.
Notes to editors
- See ‘The London Plan’ https://www.london.gov.uk/priorities/planning/publications/the-london-plan Point 3.16
- Watch the webcast from the last meeting on Tuesday 25th February http://www.london.gov.uk/mayor-assembly/london-assembly/webcasts
- The Planning Committee is undertaking a series of meetings in preparation for responding to the Mayor’s consultation on proposals to revise the London Plan. The next meeting on 11 March will deal with density and the Committee will submit its final comments to the Mayor on 10 April.
- Nicky Gavron, Chair of the Planning Committee, is available for interview. See contact details below.
- As well as investigating issues that matter to Londoners, the London Assembly acts as a check and a balance on the Mayor.
For media enquiries, please contact Kiran Dhaliwal on 020 7983 4504. For out-of-hours media enquiries, call 020 7983 4000 and ask for the London Assembly duty press officer. Non-media enquiries should be directed to the Public Liaison Unit on 020 7983 4100.