GLA Land and Property (GLAP) is a subsidiary company of the

Greater London Authority The Greater London Authority (GLA), colloquially known by the metonym "City Hall", is the devolved regional governance body of Greater London. It consists of two political branches: the executive Mayoralty (currently led by Sadiq Khan) and the ...

. It was formed on 1 April 2012 as a replacement for the

London Development Agency The London Development Agency (LDA) was from July 2000 until 2012 the regional development agency for the London region in England. A functional body of the Greater London Authority, its purpose was to drive sustainable economic growth within ...

(LDA) as an

arms length The arm's length principle (ALP) is the condition or the fact that the parties of a transaction are independent and on an equal footing. Such a transaction is known as an "arm's-length transaction". It is used specifically in contract law to ar ...

corporate body to take on the assets of the LDA and other agencies, under the direction of the

Mayor of London The mayor of London is the chief executive of the Greater London Authority. The role was created in 2000 after the 1998 Greater London Authority referendum, Greater London devolution referendum in 1998, and was the first Directly elected may ...

. It is one of the largest public sector landowners in London and its primary aims are to create jobs and housing. GLAP is headquartered in

Windsor House Windsor House may refer to: * Windsor House (Belfast) – a high-rise building built in 1974 * Windsor House (Hong Kong) – a high-rise building built in 1979 * Windsor House, London – an office building built in 1973 It may also refer to: * H ...

, Westminster in the offices used by Transport for London.

Formation

The

Localism Act 2011 The Localism Act 2011 (c. 20) is an Acts of Parliament in the United Kingdom, Act of Parliament that changes the powers of local government in England. The aim of the act is to facilitate the devolution of decision-making powers from central gov ...

required that the assets and liabilities of the LDA should be transferred to the Greater London Authority, and that all commercial activities relating to land and property should be undertaken by a subsidiary company. According to the 2012/2013 report and accounts, the principal activities of GLAP are "the purchase, sale and development of land or property, and the holding of land or property for capital growth or rental". Its primary aims are creating jobs and housing in London.

Land holdings

635 hectares of land in

Greater London Greater may refer to: *Greatness, the state of being great *Greater than, in inequality (mathematics), inequality *Greater (film), ''Greater'' (film), a 2016 American film *Greater (flamingo), the oldest flamingo on record *Greater (song), "Greate ...

are held by the company, transferred from the London Development Agency,

London Thames Gateway Development Corporation The London Thames Gateway Development Corporation (LTGDC) was a non-departmental public body sponsored by the Department for Communities and Local Government, with directors appointed by the Secretary of State, including some democratically elect ...

(not including

Queen Elizabeth Olympic Park Queen Elizabeth Olympic Park is a sporting complex and public park in Stratford, Hackney Wick, Leyton and Bow, in east London. It was purpose-built for the 2012 Summer Olympics and Paralympics, situated adjacent to the Stratford City developm ...

) and the London part of the

Homes and Communities Agency Homes England is the non-departmental public body that funds new affordable housing in England. It was founded on 1 January 2018 to replace the Homes and Communities Agency (HCA). HCA in turn was established by the Housing and Regeneration Act 2 ...

. The most significant single asset of GLAP is the

Greenwich Peninsula The Greenwich Peninsula is an area of Greenwich in South London, South East London, England. It is bounded on three sides by a loop of the River Thames, Thames, between the Isle of Dogs to the west and Silvertown to the east. To the south is the ...

and a high proportion of the land is in

East London East or Orient is one of the four cardinal directions or points of the compass. It is the opposite direction from west and is the direction from which the Sun rises on the Earth. Etymology As in other languages, the word is formed from the f ...

. In addition to the land owned by GLAP, the Greater London Authority owns the considerable property portfolios of the London Fire Brigade, Metropolitan Police Service and Transport for London. The following land holdings are over 10 hectares: *

*Former

Cane Hill Hospital Cane Hill Hospital was a psychiatric hospital in Coulsdon in the London Borough of Croydon. The site is owned by GLA Land and Property. History The hospital has its origins as the third Surrey County Pauper Lunatic Asylum, designed by Charles ...

site *

Excel Centre ExCeL London (an abbreviation for Exhibition Centre London) is an exhibition centre, international convention centre and former hospital in the Custom House area of Newham, East London. It is situated on a site on the northern quay of the ...

Beam Park Beam Park is a new neighbourhood in the south of the London Borough of Barking and Dagenham and the London Borough of Havering. It is named after the River Beam which forms the boundary between the boroughs. It will be served by Beam Park railway ...

Beam Reach Beam Reach is a redevelopment area in London, England and part of the London Riverside section of the Thames Gateway. It is an industrial area adjacent to the new neighbourhood of Beam Park. Geography It is located in the southern part of the L ...

Silvertown Quays Silvertown Quays is a redevelopment scheme of of former London docklands warehousing in the East London district of Silvertown. It is situated on the northside of the River Thames, the southside of the Royal Victoria Dock on the opposite quay t ...

Crystal Palace National Sports Centre The National Sports Centre at Crystal Palace in south London, England is a large sports centre and outdoor athletics stadium. It was opened in 1964 in Crystal Palace Park, close to the site of the former Crystal Palace Exhibition building which ...

London Sustainable Industries Park London Sustainable Industries Park (LSIP) is a 60 acre eco-industrial park in the Dagenham Dock area of the London Borough of Barking and Dagenham in London, England. Around half the plots are taken up by whole businesses and the remaining half hav ...

Royals Business Park The Royal Albert Dock is one of three docks in the Royal Group of Docks of East London in the United Kingdom, now undergoing major redevelopment. History The dock, which was designed by Sir Alexander Rendel as an extension to the Victori ...

Britannia Village Silvertown is a district in the London Borough of Newham, in east London, England. It lies on the north bank of the Thames and was historically part of the parishes of West Ham and East Ham, hundred of Becontree, and the historic county ...

*Land on the south side of King George V Dock *Former

Parcelforce Parcelforce Worldwide is a courier and logistics service in the United Kingdom. Parcelforce Worldwide is a trading name of the Royal Mail and is organised within the UK Parcels, International and Letters division of the group. The company del ...

site, West Ham *

University of East London , mottoeng = Knowledge and the fulfilment of vows , established = 1898 – West Ham Technical Institute1952 – West Ham College of Technology1970 – North East London Polytechnic1989 – Polytechnic of East London ...

Governance

GLAP is held by a holding company called Greater London Authority Holdings Limited, created at the same time. Greater London Authority Holdings Limited does not trade and has no other subsidiaries. GLAP is not permitted to borrow directly from the

Public Works Loan Board The Public Works Loan Board (PWLB) ( cy, Bwrdd Benthyciadau Gwaith Cyhoeddus) was a statutory body of the UK Government that provided loans to public bodies from the National Loans Fund. In 2020, the PWLB was abolished as a statutory organisation, a ...

, but the Greater London Authority can borrow on its behalf. This was needed because GLAP inherited a borrowing requirement of approximately £300m from the LDA. The liabilities transferred from the LDA include the costs of the compulsory purchase of land for the 2012 Olympic and Paralympic games. It is anticipated this will be repaid from the sale of other assets.

References

External links

GLA database of Land and Property
{{Authority control Economy of London Greater London Authority functional bodies 2012 establishments in England Government agencies established in 2012