The London Plan is the statutory spatial development strategy for the

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 ...

area in the United Kingdom that is written by 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 ...

and published by 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 ...

. The regional planning document was first published in final form on 10 February 2004. In addition to minor alterations, it was substantially revised and republished in February 2008 and again in July 2011. In October 2013, minor alterations were made to the plan to comply with the

National Planning Policy Framework The National Planning Policy Framework (NPPF) is a land-use planning policy in the United Kingdom. It was originally published by the UK's Department of Communities and Local Government in March 2012, consolidating over two dozen previously is ...

and other changes in national policy. The London Plan of March 2016 was published, and amended, in January 2017.PDF
/ref> The current plan has a formal end-date of 2036. As of March 2021, a new London Plan was adopted by the Greater London Authority, planning for the next 20-25 years.

Mandate

The plan replaced the previous strategic planning guidance for London issued by the Secretary of State and known as RPG

It is a requirement of the

Greater London Authority Act 1999 The Greater London Authority Act 1999 (c. 29) is the Act of Parliament that established the Greater London Authority, the London Assembly and the Mayor of London. Background The Act was brought in after a referendum was held under the Great ...

that the document is produced and that it deals only with matters that are of strategic importance to Greater London. The Act also requires that the London Plan includes in its scope: *the health of Londoners, *

equality of opportunity Equal opportunity is a state of fairness in which individuals are treated similarly, unhampered by artificial barriers, prejudices, or preferences, except when particular distinctions can be explicitly justified. The intent is that the important ...

, *contribution to

sustainable development Sustainable development is an organizing principle for meeting human development goals while also sustaining the ability of natural systems to provide the natural resources and ecosystem services on which the economy and society depend. The des ...

in the United Kingdom.

Objectives

The plan is a spatial development strategy for the

area and has six objectives. The current objectives, as adopted by the 2011 and 2016 revisions, are to ensure that London is: The objectives were previously updated in 2008 following the

Greater London Authority Act 2007 The Greater London Authority Act 2007 (c 24) is an Act of the Parliament of the United Kingdom. It gave extra powers to the Greater London Authority and the Mayor of London, which had been created by the Greater London Authority Act 1999. Re ...

: The original 2004 objectives were:

Policies

The 2016 plan had chapters:

Opportunity areas

The plan identifies dozens of areas of opportunity, which are where the bulk of efforts will be concentrated, with an aim at reducing social deprivation and creating sustainable development. The opportunity areas will be able to accommodate around 5,000 jobs each or about 2,500 homes, or a mixture of the two. The opportunity areas will mostly be town centres as opposed to suburban developments in the boroughs, although those are mentioned as important in terms of job growth and quality of life. By definition, an Opportunity Area is

brownfield land In urban planning, brownfield land is any previously developed land that is not currently in use. It may be potentially contaminated, but this is not required for the area to be considered brownfield. The term is also used to describe land prev ...

with significant capacity for development. This contrasts with an Intensification Area that can be developed to higher than existing densities with more modest economic change.

Sub-regions

For the purposes of the plan, London is divided into five sub-regions. From 2004 to 2008 the sub-regions were initially the same as the

Learning and Skills Council The Learning and Skills Council (LSC) was a non-departmental public body jointly sponsored by the Department for Business, Innovation and Skills (BIS) and the Department for Children, Schools and Families (DCSF) in England. It closed on 31 Marc ...

areas established in 1999. Within this scheme there was a separate Central sub-region and four others around it. The London part of the

Thames Gateway Thames Gateway is a term applied to an area around the Thames Estuary in the context of discourse around regeneration and further urbanisation. The term was first coined by the UK government and applies to an area of land stretching east from ...

zone was entirely contained within the East London sub-region. The 2004–08 sub-regions each had a ''Sub-Regional Development Framework''. The sub-regions were revised in February 2008 as part of the ''Further Alterations to the London Plan''. These sub-regions each radiated from the centre to combine inner and outer London boroughs. The 2008–11 sub-regions, each had its own ''Sub Regional Implementation Framework''. In 2011 the sub-regions were revised again. A smaller Central sub-region was reintroduced, the South sub-region was reintroduced, and all boroughs in the

were returned to the East sub-region. The 2011 sub-regions are maintained in the 2016 London Plan. Throughout these revisions has been a separately defined ''Central Activities Zone'' which includes areas with a very high concentration of metropolitan activities.

Activity centres

The London Plan identifies 201

activity centre Activity centre is a term used in urban planning and design for a mixed-use urban area where there is a concentration of commercial and other land uses. For example, the central business districts of cities (CBD) are also known as “Central Activ ...

s in the city. All activity centres are categorised into: *2 international centres, the West End and

Knightsbridge Knightsbridge is a residential and retail district in central London, south of Hyde Park, London, Hyde Park. It is identified in the London Plan as one of two international retail centres in London, alongside the West End of London, West End. ...

. *14 metropolitan centres such as

Hounslow Hounslow () is a large suburban district of West London, west-southwest of Charing Cross. It is the administrative centre of the London Borough of Hounslow, and is identified in the London Plan as one of the 12 metropolitan centres in Gr ...

Bromley Bromley is a large town in Greater London, England, within the London Borough of Bromley. It is south-east of Charing Cross, and had an estimated population of 87,889 as of 2011. Originally part of Kent, Bromley became a market town, char ...

Ealing Ealing () is a district in West London, England, west of Charing Cross in the London Borough of Ealing. Ealing is the administrative centre of the borough and is identified as a major metropolitan centre in the London Plan. Ealing was histor ...

, Stratford and

Wood Green Wood Green is a suburban district in the borough of Haringey in London, England. Its postal district is N22, with parts in N8 or N15. The London Plan identifies it as one of the metropolitan centres in Greater London, and today it forms a maj ...

*36 major centres such as

Brixton Brixton is a district in south London, part of the London Borough of Lambeth, England. The area is identified in the London Plan as one of 35 major centres in Greater London. Brixton experienced a rapid rise in population during the 19th ce ...

Dalston Dalston () is an area of East London, in the London Borough of Hackney. It is northeast of Charing Cross. Dalston began as a hamlet on either side of Dalston Lane, and as the area urbanised the term also came to apply to surrounding areas includ ...

Eltham Eltham ( ) is a district of southeast London, England, within the Royal Borough of Greenwich. It is east-southeast of Charing Cross, and is identified in the London Plan as one of 35 major centres in Greater London. The three wards of Elt ...

and Kilburn *149 district centres such as

Camberwell Camberwell () is a district of South London, England, in the London Borough of Southwark, southeast of Charing Cross. Camberwell was first a village associated with the church of St Giles and a common of which Goose Green is a remnant. This e ...

West Hampstead West Hampstead is an area in the London Borough of Camden in north-west London. Mainly defined by the railway stations of the same name, it is situated between Childs Hill to the north, Frognal and Hampstead to the north-east, Swiss Cottage ...

and

Whitechapel Whitechapel is a district in East London and the future administrative centre of the London Borough of Tower Hamlets. It is a part of the East End of London, east of Charing Cross. Part of the historic county of Middlesex, the area formed ...

. Smaller local and neighbourhood centres are also referred to in the plan but are not listed.

Alterations

There have been a number of amendments to the London Plan which have been incorporated into the current version that was published in February 2008. Early alterations were made covering housing provision targets, waste and minerals. Further alterations to the plan covered

climate change In common usage, climate change describes global warming—the ongoing increase in global average temperature—and its effects on Earth's climate system. Climate change in a broader sense also includes previous long-term changes to E ...

; London as a world city; The London Economy; Housing; Tackling

social exclusion Social exclusion or social marginalisation is the social disadvantage and relegation to the fringe of society. It is a term that has been used widely in Europe and was first used in France in the late 20th century. It is used across discipline ...

;

Transport Transport (in British English), or transportation (in American English), is the intentional movement of humans, animals, and goods from one location to another. Modes of transport include air, land (rail and road), water, cable, pipeline, an ...

; London's geography, the sub-regions and inter-regions;

Outer London Outer London is the name for the group of London boroughs that form a ring around Inner London. Together, the inner and outer boroughs form London, the capital city of the United Kingdom. These were areas that were not part of the County of Londo ...

; Liveability (including safety, security and open spaces); and the 2012 Olympic Games and

Paralympic Games The Paralympic Games or Paralympics, also known as the ''Games of the Paralympiad'', is a periodic series of international multisport events involving athletes with a range of physical disabilities, including impaired muscle power and impaire ...

. The mayor gained new statutory powers following the

. Following the 2008 change of mayor, a new review was initiated in July 2008 and a new London Plan published in July 2011. As of this date, modifications are made to fully comply with the

. In 2013, London Mayor

Boris Johnson Alexander Boris de Pfeffel Johnson (; born 19 June 1964) is a British politician, writer and journalist who served as Prime Minister of the United Kingdom and Leader of the Conservative Party from 2019 to 2022. He previously served as F ...

proposed early minor alterations to the London Plan that were aimed at preventing boroughs from setting rent caps or targets for affordable rented homes in their local development frameworks. The alterations were approved in a vote by the

London Assembly The London Assembly is a 25-member elected body, part of the Greater London Authority, that scrutinises the activities of the Mayor of London and has the power, with a two-thirds super-majority, to amend the Mayor's annual budget and to reject ...

in September 2013. Alterations made since July 2011 were consolidated in the London Plan of March 2016, which was published and amended in January 2017. Following the 2016 change of mayor, London Mayor

Sadiq Khan Sadiq Aman Khan (; born 8 October 1970) is a British politician serving as Mayor of London since 2016. He was previously Member of Parliament (MP) for Tooting from 2005 until 2016. A member of the Labour Party, Khan is on the party's sof ...

outlined proposals towards creating a new London Plan. A draft version was published in December 2017, with the final version of the latest London Plan released in March 2021, and formally coming into effect on 2nd March 2021.

References

External links

The London Plan
on the Greater London Authority's Web site
Outer London Commission
– established by Mayor "to advise how Outer London can play its full part in the city's economic success" (2009) {{Areas of London Local government in London United Kingdom planning policy Regional planning in London 2004 in London 2009 in London Government documents of the United Kingdom 2011 in London City plans