· Sadiq Khan takes first step towards creating a new ‘London Plan’
The Mayor of London, Sadiq Khan, has today outlined his plans to create a better city for all Londoners, where no community is left behind and where everyone has the opportunities they need to fulfil their potential.
Published today, the Mayor’s ‘A City for all Londoners’ document is the first step towards the creation of a new ‘London Plan’ – the document which sets the rules for how London develops.
It builds on Sadiq Khan’s election manifesto and sets out how he plans to respond to the big changes London faces. These include the pressure of a fast-growing population, the increasing diversity of Londoners, rising inequality, the uncertainty caused by the EU referendum result and the effects of climate change.
The document is now open to consultation, and the Mayor is calling on all Londoners to feed back their views on London’s future. All feedback will help inform the Mayor’s policies across a range of areas – including planning, transport, housing, environment, culture, economic development, policing and crime and health inequalities. Full versions of these strategies will be developed and published for further consultation in 2017.
Since being elected Mayor in May, Sadiq Khan has already made major changes to Londoners lives. This includes consulting on a raft of bold policies to address air pollution, freezing all Transport for London fares for four years, opening the Night Tube and introducing the new Hopper bus fare.
Sadiq Khan, said: “I want to make London better for all Londoners – by building a city where no one is left behind and where everyone gets the opportunities they need to fulfil their potential.
“Today I am asking all Londoners to tell us how they want us to respond to the big trends that are shaping London’s long-term future.
“Our population is projected to grow by 70,000 per year to 10.5 million by 2041. This growth is a sign of our success, but it is also putting pressure on land, housing, transport and the environment.
“Our economy is one of the strongest in the world, but the uncertainty following the EU referendum result has exacerbated existing threats to London’s competitiveness.
“And for too many Londoners, the prosperity and wealth on their doorsteps is more remote and more inaccessible than ever before –especially an affordable and decent home.
“I want to lead a city that responds positively to growth, that celebrates its diversity and where people from all walks of life are safe, healthy and live well together.”
The document also contains further detail on how the Mayor believes culture is an integral part of London’s future growth. Sadiq believes culture helps people enjoy the city and flourish personally as well as creating jobs.
The Mayor will therefore work to ensure culture is not squeezed out because of wider development pressures, that can often lead to a sterilisation of our city and a loss of the amenities which do so much to make London an amazing place to live and work.
The document can be viewed online at www.london.gov.uk/cityforall
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Notes to editors
Highlights of the ‘A City for all Londoners’ document include:
Accommodating growth
At 8.8 million residents, London’s population is now larger than it has ever been. It is set to reach 10.5 million by 2041, with an average increase of almost 44,000 households each year. The Mayor will meet these demands by:
- Identifying land in the capital to build at least 50,000 homes every year between now and 2041. This can be done while protecting the Green Belt and other protected green spaces.
- Building more river crossings, beginning with the Silvertown Tunnel which will open in the early 2020s.
- Encouraging the use of more efficient, low-emission vehicles, and overall less car and van use. To manage this demand, Sadiq plans to look at introducing innovative methods, including using road space for different purposes at different times of the day.
Housing:
Londoners regularly raise housing as their biggest concern– with only eight per cent of Londoners satisfied with housing in the city. A shortage of truly affordable homes is acting as a drag on the attractiveness of London as a place to live and work. That is why the Mayor has made housing such a priority and is working to deliver more, better, genuinely affordable homes for the Londoners who need them.
The Mayor is clear that building enough new homes and catering to the needs of all Londoners, including the most vulnerable, is extremely challenging and will be a marathon rather than a sprint. He is:
- Working towards a London-wide target for 50 per cent of new homes built in London to be affordable. This is planned to be achieved through his new London Plan and by working closely with boroughs, housing associations and the development industry, through the new Homes for Londoners Board.
- Building new homes both for sale and for rent, including a range of different sorts of affordable housing. Delivering more shared ownership properties and renting options to help middle earners.
- Launching a new No Nights Sleeping Rough Taskforce, in partnership with boroughs, charities and other key players – aiming to help people who are sleeping rough and, crucially, to prevent people ending up on the street in the first place.
Economy
Sadiq Khan intends to promote the city’s economy by being the most pro-business Mayor ever, safeguarding the city from the impact of Brexit and ensuring that all Londoners have an opportunity to benefit equally from its success. He will do this by:
- Calling on Government to create a skilled immigration system that keeps London open and enables its economy to thrive and grow.
- With the powers and funding that the Mayor hopes will finally be devolved to London, he plans to work to improve the skills system, ensuring provision more closely matches the needs of businesses. This includes control over the budget for adult skills.
- Complementing the new night tube and the planning measures the Mayor is taking to plan for culture, by appointing a ‘night czar’ to oversee London’s night-time economy.
Environment, transport and public space
Sadiq Khan will be the Mayor who cleans up London’s filthy air and sets the city on its way to being zero carbon in 2050 – led in large part through his plans for the transport system. He plans to make sure that public space and neighbourhoods are attractive, pleasant and interesting. He will do this by:
- Proposing to introduce an emissions surcharge (or ‘Toxicity charge’) in 2017 for high-polluting older vehicles in central London. Developing proposals to introduce the central London Ultra-Low Emission Zone (ULEZ) in 2019 (a year earlier than planned) and potentially enlarging the area it covers,
- Creating ‘Healthy Streets’ to reduce traffic, pollution and noise, create more attractive, accessible and people-friendly streets where everybody can enjoy spending time and being physically active, and ultimately to improve people’s health.
- Making cycling easier and safer. In central London, the Mayor plans to complete a cycling grid to enable quick and convenient cycling trips around Zone 1. He also wants to open up more Quietways and help people make the most of city’s green, attractive places.
A city for all Londoners
The Mayor plans to introduce a wide range of policies that directly affect the quality of people’s lives and have an impact on how we all live together in our city. He wants to build strong communities, and enable all Londoners to actively participate in the life of the city, and in the decisions that affect them. He will do this by:
· Taking proactive steps to close the gender pay gap in London.
· Tackling poverty directly, working with communities, civil society and others to effect change, and to deliver targeted interventions to support the most vulnerable groups and communities in our city.
· Ensuring that major cultural festivals - Pride, St Patrick’s Day, faith-based events and many more – will remain free of charge so that everyone can participate.
· Introducing the London Borough of Culture to focus attention and investment on one particular local authority to catalyse and celebrate local culture and communities.
· Ensuring the planning system supports London’s vibrant culture by producing the world’s first cultural infrastructure plan, giving an overview of all the city’s cultural requirements.
- The Mayor’s forthcoming Police and Crime Plan will set out a new direction for policing, security and justice in London. It will be rooted in an understanding of how the security challenge in London has changed in recent years and will draw on the contribution of thousands of Londoners who have told us their priorities.