London Plan 2004
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Chinese Hindi Spatial Development Strategy for Greater London Greater for Spatial Development Strategy Vietnamese Bengali Greek Urdu Turkish Arabic Punjabi Gujarati February 2004 City Hall www.london.gov.uk The Queen’s Walk Enquiries 020 7983 4100 London SE1 2AA Minicom 020 7983 4458 MoL/Feb 04/CJ D&P/MT/448A The London Plan Spatial Development Strategy for Greater London February 2004 copyright Greater London Authority February 2004 Published by Greater London Authority City Hall The Queen’s Walk London SE1 2AA www.london.gov.uk enquiries 020 7983 4100 minicom 020 7983 4458 ISBN 1 85261 544 3 Cover photograph Adam Hinton This document is printed on 50 per cent post consumer recycled paper, 50 per cent totally chlorine free pulp, and printed with vegetable oil based inks. Acknowlegements The Mayor would like to thank everyone who contributed to this plan including the Independent Panel, all participants at the Examination in Public and everyone else who responded to the public consultation. Most of all the Mayor thanks all the staff at City Hall who helped put this plan together over the past three years, especially Drew Stevenson, Robin Thompson, Debbie McMullen and Eleanor Young. He would also like to thank Nicky Gavron for chairing the SDS Steering Group. The London Plan Mayor of London iii contents preamble vii ‘My vision for London’ xi introduction 1 The Mayor’s objectives 6 chapter 1 positioning London 15 1 London’s place in the world 15 2 London – past and present 20 3 Forces driving change in London 24 chapter 2 the broad development strategy 37 2A The overall strategy 37 1 Sustainable development 38 2 Overarching spatial policies for London 39 3 Transport and spatial development 47 4 London’s sub-regions 48 2B The Key Diagram 49 chapter 3 thematic policies 53 3A Living in London 53 1 Housing policies 54 2 London’s diverse population 69 3 Providing for Community Services 73 4 Communities, neighbourhoods and the development process 80 3B Working in London 87 1 The economic context 87 2 Demand and supply of office accommodation 88 3 Manufacturing and wholesale distribution 92 4 Emerging growth sectors 93 5 Improving the skills and employment opportunities for Londoners 99 3C Connecting London – improving travel in London 103 1 Closer integration of transport and spatial development 103 2 Enhancing international, national and regional transport links 109 3 Better public transport in London 112 4 Reducing congestion and making better use of London’s streets 120 5 Improving freight movements and the distribution of goods and services 127 iv Mayor of London The London Plan 3D Enjoying London 131 1 Consumers in London 132 2 Culture and Sport in London 136 3 Visitors’ London 139 4 Improving London’s open environment 142 chapter 4 the crosscutting policies 155 4A London’s metabolism: using and managing natural resources 155 1 Planning for waste 156 2 Planning for minerals 160 3 Improving air quality 162 4 Improving the use of energy 164 5 Efficient use of water 166 6 Reducing noise 169 7 Tackling climate change 170 8 Contaminated land 171 9 Hazardous substances 171 4B Designs on London 173 1 Principles of design for a compact city 173 2 The specifics of design for a compact city 181 4C The Blue Ribbon Network 193 1 The Blue Ribbon Network Principles 193 2 Defining the Blue Ribbon Network 194 3 Natural resources, forces and human heritage 197 4 Sustainable growth priorities 202 5 Enjoying the Blue Ribbon Network 206 6 Design 209 7 London’s water spaces 212 chapter 5 the sub-regions 221 1 London’s sub-regions and their strategic importance 221 5A Overall approach to sub-regional development 222 5B Central London 227 5C East London and the Thames Gateway 241 5D West London sub-region 257 5E North London sub-region 265 5F South London sub-region 273 chapter 6 implementing the London Plan 281 6A Delivering the vision 281 1 The plan’s sphere of influence 281 2 The main implementation processes 283 3 The main stakeholders and their contribution 295 4 Strategies that will contribute to implementation 301 The London Plan Mayor of London v 6B Monitoring and review 307 1 London Plan Performance Indicators 308 2 Draft framework of Annual Monitoring Report 312 6C Looking to the future 315 1 London after 2020 315 2 First review of or alteration to the London Plan 316 annex 1 London’s strategic town centre network A1 annex 2 Strategic Employment Locations A7 annex 3 reconciliation tables A11 annex 4 parking standards A19 annex 5 implementation of the Blue Ribbon Network A31 annex 6 list of Supplementary Planning Guidance A35 annex 7 main requirements for additional assessments as a result of the London Plan A37 annex 8 partnerships that can help to deliver the London Plan A39 annex 9 implementation tools A45 glossary A59 index of policies A79 contributor’s credits A85 photography credits A86 vi Mayor of London The London Plan The London Plan Mayor of London vii preamble Where does the London Plan fit in? The GLA The Greater London Authority (GLA) was established in 2000. It covers the 32 London boroughs and the Corporation of London. It is made up of a directly elected Mayor (the Executive) and a separately elected Assembly (to scrutinise the Mayor). The GLA is a new kind of public authority, designed to provide citywide, strategic government for London. Its principal purposes are to promote the economic and social development and the environmental improvement of Greater London. The London Plan – what is it for? The Mayor is responsible for strategic planning in London. He has a wide range of duties and powers. The government has set out guidance and advice on the Mayor’s planning duties and powers1. His duties include producing a Spatial Development Strategy for London – called the London Plan – and keeping it under review. The London Plan replaces existing strategic guidance2, and boroughs’ development plans must be in ‘general conformity’ with it. The Greater London Authority (GLA) Act 1999 requires that the London Plan deals only with matters that are of strategic importance to Greater London. The required content of the London Plan is set out in a government guidance note (Circular 1/2000). The GLA Act also requires that the London Plan takes account of three crosscutting themes: • the health of Londoners • equality of opportunity • its contribution to sustainable development in the UK. The London Plan: • is the strategic plan setting out an integrated social, economic and environmental framework for the future development of London, looking forward 15–20 years • integrates the physical and geographic dimensions of the Mayor’s other strategies, including broad locations for change and providing a framework for land use management and development, which is strongly linked to improvements in infrastructure, especially transport • provides the Londonwide context within which individual boroughs must set their local planning policies • sets the policy framework for the Mayor’s involvement in major planning decisions in London • sets out proposals for implementation and funding • is London’s response to European guidance on spatial planning and a link to European Structural Funds. viii Mayor of London The London Plan The London Plan enables a strategic approach to be taken to the key issues facing London. It: • provides a clear framework within which all of the stakeholders in London’s future can plan their own activities to best effect • enables Londoners to participate in shaping the future of their city – mostly at the sub-regional level • ensures that policies are coherent and integrated, across issues and between places • sends a strong message to the world that London has a vibrant and confident view of its future. The role of the London Plan The Mayor is required by law to produce other strategies for London. Each must be consistent with the others and the London Plan acts as the integrating framework for all. Each must take on board national policies and international obligations. These strategies are: Transport Published July 2001 Economic Development Published July 2001 Biodiversity Published July 2002 Air Quality Published September 2002 Municipal Waste Management Published September 2003 Ambient Noise Forthcoming March 2004 Culture Consultation draft May 2003 The Mayor has also produced a strategy on energy, with publication expected in 2004. In addition, a Children and Young People’s Strategy has been produced (January 2004). The London Plan is required to take account of the European Spatial Development Perspective (ESDP) and other EU directives3. The ESDP sets a framework for the planning system to operate in the wider European context and supports the principle of sustainable development and the creation of balanced urban systems. It is a statutory requirement that the draft London Plan undergoes a ‘sustainability appraisal’, which was published in 20024. The Mayor also has a statutory duty to promote equality of opportunity in London and will ensure that the proposals and policies in the London Plan are implemented with due regard to the Race Relations Amendment Act 2000, the Disability Discrimination Act 1995 and other relevant government policy advice.