Transport-led regeneration

London’s population is set to rise from 8.6 million to 10 million in 2030.

But how will London accommodate this growth? Where will people live and work? How will people move around the city?

The Mayor envisages accommodating much of London’s population growth in Opportunity Areas, such as Elephant & Castle, Old Oak Common and Park Royal and Croydon.

However many of these Opportunity Areas lack good transport links to attract development on the scale London needs.

The London Assembly Regeneration Committee report ‘Transport-led regeneration: Has TfL’s Growth Fund risen to the challenge?’ looks into the £360m Growth Fund, which aims to support jobs and housing growth in London through transport improvement projects.

Unlike other funding mechanisms, this Fund has a different purpose. As TfL looks for future transport demand in London, the fund is flexible in its allocations and it has managed to plug gaps in stalled transport schemes across London.

The future Mayor of London has a series of important decisions to make about future transport projects in the capital.

The report makes a number of recommendations:

• TfL should renew the Growth Fund for another ten years to 2026/27. The Fund should involve an open and transparent bidding process, with clear selection criteria established by TfL.
• The next Mayor should produce a proposal for the devolution of stamp duty in London, to capture growth in land values and re-invest the proceeds into further transport improvement projects.
• TfL should consult local people in a consistent way, when proposing new or improved transport projects in regeneration areas.

The report is available to download below.