London Plan
The London Plan is a blueprint for development and growth in London. It sets the spatial strategy for London and includes policies related to housing; environment; economic development; infrastructure, and design.
It is a legal requirement for the Mayor to prepare, publish and keep under review the Spatial Development Strategy for Greater London (the London Plan). It sets out the framework for how London will develop over the next 20 years. This new London Plan will look forward to 2046/7.
About this consultation
This consultation is to enable us to finalise the draft London Plan before it is submitted to the Secretary of State in preparation for ‘Examination in Public’. The Examination is a necessary step before the London Plan could be adopted. There is information online about the process of developing and reviewing plans such as the new London Plan.
We have prepared consultation questionnaires which ask:
- Whether or not you believe the Draft London Plan in overall terms is legally compliant (explained below)
- Whether each policy contained in the Draft London Plan passes the ‘tests of soundness’ (explained below) and if not, why
- What modifications we need to make to the Plan so that it does pass the tests of soundness
Please see our FAQs for information about legal compliance and the tests of soundness.
How to provide your comments
Our questionnaires will ask you to identify the specific policies of the Draft London Plan that your comments (on the topics we listed above) relate to. There are five separate questionnaires in total for each chapter of the draft London Plan which contains policies.
We ask that anyone wishing to make a representation does so through our online questionnaires wherever possible. If this would cause you a particular hardship we may be able to offer you support in responding to our consultation. You can also reply by:
- Email to londonplan@london.gov.uk
Our consultation will close on 15 October 2026 (17:00).
Responses will be processed in accordance with UK data protection legislation and the GLA’s Privacy Notice.
Why develop a new London Plan?
Change has always been fundamental to large cities and what it means to live there. The Mayor’s vision for ‘Good Growth’ is at the core of this new Plan. This is the idea that not only can London become a place where more people call home, but that change should also help to improve the quality of life for Londoners. This means supporting businesses to thrive so they can create and spread wealth. It means delivering more homes, particularly genuinely affordable homes, so that Londoners have somewhere to call home. It means ensuring everyone feels welcome in our public places and can live in good health. It means creating neighbourhoods that are cleaner, greener and more resilient to the impacts of climate change.
The challenge to deliver sustainable growth to meet London’s housing and economic needs is greater than it ever has been. The new London Plan is ambitious in seeking to meet this challenge. This means change will come to more parts of London as we seek to accommodate new homes and jobs. Every neighbourhood will need to play its part. The limited space - and different demands for it - inevitably create tensions and trade-offs that need to be navigated. There are no easy answers but if we avoid making the necessary decisions and bold choices, the significant long-term challenges the city faces will deepen further. This would leave us with a city that is unaffordable for an ever-increasing number of people.
The new London Plan therefore has an important concept at its heart: making the best use of land. This means making the most of every appropriate development site for the new homes, jobs and community facilities London needs. More ‘mid-rise’ buildings of up to five or six storeys rather than two will be needed and the physical look and feel of areas will have to evolve, particularly in places with decent public transport connections. It means making the most of smaller-scale developments opportunities within established neighbourhoods, either in between existing buildings or through adapting or replacing them.
Overall, these measures will prioritise land that has already been built on and is within the current urban extent. However, as well as doing more with existing development sites, London also needs more sites. This means that some well-connected parts of London’s Green Belt will also need to play a role. There is land next to rail stations that can accommodate new homes at a scale large enough to support new communities and sustain shops and facilities, as well as new accessible green spaces and parks. Again, this must be done in a way that makes best use of these locations, to minimise the Green Belt land that is needed. The Green Belt can also help provide locations for industrial and logistics operations in places where there is already good access to major roads well suited for moving goods around the city. This could not only support the functioning of London’s economy, but also free up other industrial sites for new homes in other parts of London that are already located next to existing excellent public transport connections.
Alongside making the best use of land, there are three other objectives that individually and collectively represent what is required to deliver Good Growth. These are set out below:
Good growth objectives
1. Making best use of land. This objective seeks to ensure London’s scarce land is used most efficiently to deliver the many homes, jobs, services and green spaces Londoners need. The denser development this requires can deliver vibrant places, sustain a mix of uses locally, enable more green space and more sustainable ways to travel.
2. Delivering the homes and neighbourhoods Londoners need. This objective aims to tackle the housing shortage by increasing the volume and variety of housing, and its affordability. It also seeks to provide safe and welcoming neighbourhoods that include the facilities people need in their daily lives.
3. Growing London’s economy in a way that benefits all. This objective aims to support and grow London’s economy more inclusively by delivering necessary spaces and infrastructure to support economic activity and better access to skills and jobs.
4. Creating a greener, resilient and healthy city. This objective aims to contribute to London becoming a net zero city, increase its resilience and improve biodiversity and access to green spaces and nature. It also seeks to reduce exposure to poor quality air and clean up our waterways.
What is the new London Plan?
The London Plan is part of the planning system. This system is essentially the ‘rulebook’ for where homes, schools, offices, warehouses, shops, hotels and leisure facilities can be built; where parks, transport, and utilities are needed; and how and where existing areas can grow and change. Planning aims to balance growth with quality of life. Local councils make day to day decisions on what is allowed to be built, but in London they must follow both national policy and London Plan policies as well.
The London Plan sets out the Mayor of London’s long term vision for how London should grow over the next two decades and where that growth should go. It sets housing targets, promotes economic growth and addresses transport and environment impacts, and the design of buildings and places. All London boroughs must follow it when they make planning decisions.
The London Plan matters because London is growing and space is limited. It manages where new homes and other uses like industry should go, how tall buildings can be, and how development should support public transport, green spaces, and climate goals. It also tries to make growth fairer by setting out requirements for affordable housing and better access to jobs and services for all Londoners.
Have your say on the new London Plan
Understanding the London Plan helps give you the tools to look at proposed development and policies that shape your city. The draft new London Plan has been informed by early engagement with Londoners and organisations over the past several years – and this current consultation is the chance for members of the public to have their say on the proposals for how London can grow in the most sustainable way.
The closing date for comments is 15 October 2026 (17:00).
Read the new London Plan
Each chapter of the new London Plan contains a number of policies. We have listed and summarised the Policies contained in each chapter in this section, and provided a link to the chapter so that you can read the original document. We have also provided a link to the entire new draft London Plan document.
Making best use of land
Delivering the homes and neighbourhoods Londoners need
Growing London’s economy in a way that benefits all
Creating a greener, resilient and healthy city
Place visions and place-based approaches
Accessible information
We want to make sure everyone can take part in our consultations. To help make it accessible to everyone we have provided our consultation information in the following formats:
British Sign Language
Easy Read
Audio files
Translation
You can also translate the information on this page into another language by using the ‘Select language’ button at the top of the page.
More information
A range of additional supporting information is available here: Draft London Plan consultation resources | London City Hall. If you wish to provide your feedback in writing, you can do so by completing one of the surveys below.
Tell us your views
You can reply by completing our surveys, which should take no more than 15 minutes to complete. There are separate surveys for each chapter of the draft London Plan which contains policies: where there is no survey for a chapter of the Plan, that is because that chapter does not contain policies for you to review and comment on.
The closing date for comments is 15 October 2026 (17:00).
Questions
You can use our question tool during the consultation period. We will respond to your questions as soon as we can.
You can also contact us by email.
If you have a question about the new draft London Plan and would prefer to discuss it in person with us, please see our events page for details for events we are planning.
Next steps
Once our consultation has concluded we will review all of the comments we receive. Responses will be logged and analysed so we can understand the key issues people have raised. Responses will be published in accordance with relevant legislation and transparency requirements. Personal information will be processed in line with the Greater London Authority’s privacy notice.
Once the consultation feedback has been fully considered, the Mayor may propose changes for the Draft Plan. We will formally submit the Plan to the Secretary of State, along with the comments from the statutory consultation and all the supporting evidence, in 2027. Submitting the Plan starts the examination in public: an independent process led by Planning Inspectors.
The timetable for the examination in public is outside of GLA’s direct control, as this is determined by the Planning Inspectorate.
During the examination in public, Inspectors will look closely at the Plan, the issues raised through consultation and the evidence behind it. They will publish questions, hold public hearings, and may recommend changes to make sure the Plan is robust and deliverable.
Any recommended changes – known as ‘modifications’ – will be published for a further round of consultation. After this final stage, and once the Inspectors issue their report, the Plan will then be laid before the London Assembly. When adopted, it becomes part of the statutory development plan for London, guiding how the city grows in the years ahead.