Accelerating housing production in London

The Mayor of London commissioned LSE London research on housing density. This research data is meant to aid in the development of policies and preparation of the London Plan. Links to all of the reports can be found here. LSE London’s Christine Whitehead, Alan Mace, and Ian Gordon wrote two out of the the five reports. The first report titled, ‘Defining, measuring and implementing density standards in London’ (London Plan Density Research… Read More

New research published today suggests that it is economic pressures rather than government policies which have been most important in changing the role of private renting across Europe. The research, undertaken by LSE London with the Cambridge Centre for Housing and Planning Research and experts from Denmark, Germany and the Netherlands found that demand for private renting is growing for four main reasons.  First, in many places it has become harder to… Read More

At first glance the recent changes in regulation around Short-Term Letting (STL) and Permitted Development Rights (PDR) may seem to have very little in common. The 2015 Deregulation Act allowed Londoners increasing freedom to rent out all or part of their homes on a short-term basis. PDR alterations mean that it is now possible to convert properties used for office to residential development without planning permission. So what do these changes to… Read More

Focus Group   London Borough Planners Focus Group Meeting: Planning deregulation in London Date and Time: 28 June 2016 17:00 – 18:00 Location: New Academic Building Room NAB 8.03  Attendee list Sakiba Gurda – Islinghton Paul Simmons – Westminster Jennifer Watson – Westminster Mark Dorfman – Mark Dorfman Consulting Ltd Nancy Holman – LSE Alessandra Mossa – LSE Alan Mace – LSE Fanny Blanc – LSE — The deregulation of planning controls is… Read More

The deregulation act of March 2015 changed the way London regulates short-term letting. Before the act Londoners were not allowed to rent out their properties on a short-term basis without first gaining planning permission. The legislation now makes it possible for the council taxpayer to let their property on a short-term basis of fewer than 90 nights in a calendar year. STL is often associated with the loss of permanent housing stock… Read More

The deregulation of planning controls is often presented as a panacea that will help increase housing supply and give individuals more freedom to extract value from their property or properties. From the streamlining of planning regulation to the government’s red tape challenge, the answer to the provision of better outcomes for society appears to be: let the market decide. But is it always best or desirable to allow the market to arbitrate… Read More

On 15 September 2016, the Town & Country Planning Association (TCPA) hosted the Sir Frederic J. Osborn Memorial Lecture 2016 which was delivered by Professor Christine Whitehead OBE. S is a key figure of TCPAs history. For over half a century, he campaigned for pioneering public-sector new towns complemented by greener, better cities. He believed in sustainable development talking about co-operative solutions, of sharing risk in hybrid relationships between the public and private… Read More