City Fringe Opportunity Area
Key information
Growth corridors make it easier to manage development in London as they group similar or nearby OAs
OA boundary and policy status will either be: 'Adopted', 'Emerging' or 'To be defined'
London planning documents are accurate at the tie on publication. These include key planning documents that directly relate to the OA. They must be read in the context of the relevant statutory planning policies contained within the borough’s Local Plan.
London Plan AMR Category (AMR, 2018) will either be: 'Nascent', 'Ready to grow', 'Underway', 'Maturing' or 'Mature'
Overview of the OA
City Fringe is identified in the Mayor’s London Plan1 as an Opportunity Area (OA) with potential for 15,500 new homes and 50,500 new jobs by 20412. The OA was designated in 2004 and is part of the Central London Growth Corridor. See Figure 1 and 2.
What is an Opportunity Area (OA)?
Opportunity Areas or OAs are London's key locations that have potential for large scale development, providing substantial new jobs and homes. OAs typically have capacity for at least 2,500 homes or 5,000 jobs, and many are linked to potential public transport improvements.
1 The London Plan is the statutory Spatial Development Strategy for London. As the overall strategic plan for London, it sets out an integrated economic, environmental, transport and social framework for the development of London over the next 20-25 years.
2 Figures based on London Plan evidence. Homes figures are based on 2017 Strategic Housing Land Availability Assessment (SHLAA, 2017) for the period 2019 – 2041. Jobs figures are based on London Employment Sites Database (LESD, 2017) for the period 2016 – 2041.
How many new homes have been delivered?
Figure 3 shows the number of homes completed in the OA since 2019.
Figure 4 shows the number of homes completed since the OA was designated.
How many of these new homes are affordable?
Figure 7 shows the percentage of affordable homes in the OA since designation, and a comparison with the London average.
Figure 8 shows in detail the number of affordable homes since the OA was designated.
The National Planning Policy Framework (NPPF) provides a definition of affordable housing for planning purposes. Within this broad definition, sections 4.6.3 - 4.6.9 of the London Plan sets out the Mayor’s preferred affordable housing tenures and other genuinely affordable housing products.
What we hope to achieve
City Fringe contains significant development capacity in relatively central areas and there is particular scope not only to support London’s financial and business services but also the diverse cluster of digital-creative businesses in an expanding “Tech City”. The expansion of Tech City and continued business growth in the City Fringe are recognised by both the Mayor and the Prime Minister as strategically important to the economy of London and the UK.
The key growth conditions that planning can affect in the City Fringe are:
- Available, affordable, suitable business
- Stock.
- Location and “creative vibe”.
- Dense, urban, collaborative environment
- Connectivity.
- Mix of uses.
Adoption of planning framework
The Mayor adopted the City Fringe Opportunity Area Planning Framework (OAPF) on 31 December 2015.
The OAPF is available to download below.
Consultation
The City Fringe Opportunity Area Planning Framework (OAPF) was consulted upon from the 19 December 2014 to 13 February 2015. The draft document and other supporting documents are available to download below.
Next steps to monitoring progress in the OA
The London Datahub is the GLA's main source of development data. The Datahub holds detailed information on planning applications, permissions, commencements and completions in Greater London enabling the tracking of development progress across London. The data received is supplied by applicants for planning permissions and may be subject to inherent issues and errors. For more information on how the data is collected please see the Planning London Datahub.
While delivering affordable homes and creating and protecting jobs are key components of the London Plan, the Mayor also recognises that future development in the city must be sustainable and inclusive.
The London Plan, therefore, sets out a new way of doing things, something that is called Good Growth. Good Growth is about working to delivery a more socially integrated and sustainable city, where people have more of a say, and growth brings the best out of existing places while providing opportunities to communities. Good Growth is not about supporting growth at any cost.
To understand the impact of the London Plan, the Mayor is legally required to keep the London Plan under review. Key Performance Indicators (KPIs)and the approach to monitoring the Plan is set out in its final chapter and provides the basis for an ongoing and iterative assessment of the effectiveness of the Plan. Performance against the KPIs is reported in the statutory Annual Monitoring Report (AMR) which is published by the Mayor each Spring.
In additon to monitoring the progress of homes, jobs and infrastructure, the AMR will also monitor a range of other data that relates to the Good Growth objectives and the Mayor's vison for London to be socially and economically inclusive and environmentally sustainable. These will be measured through a combination of KPIs listed in Table 12.1 of the London Plan 2021 and other performance measures which will be developed as part of the London Plan AMR.
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