Planning

CPRE London promotes urban regeneration and the efficient use of land. We have undertaken research on forms of redevelopment that are most appropriate to major sites. We particularly value London's open spaces and want to see stronger protection for the Green Belt. Our activities include:

Publishing a London Planning Guide to help Londoners understand their area
Promoting the Thames Gateway as the best site for regeneration in London - see publications
Pressing for Compact Sustainable Communities within a civilised city - see report
Best use of redevelopment opportunities, such as at Elephant & Castle
Arguing for good quality family housing with attractive designs and layout.

New Planning Help Website

This new CPRE website (supported by the Department for Communities and Local Government's 'Supporting Communities and Neighbourhoods in Planning' scheme) shows how to use the planning system to protect the countryside and promote urban regeneration. It has an overview of the different aspects of the planning sytem in this country - national, regional, local, infrastructure etc. It gives an overview of advice and guidance that are availble to local communities. There are also links to various planning resources.

Go to www.planninghelp.org.uk (external website)

National Planning Policy Framework

The government's National Planning Policy Framework includes a general presumption in favour of an undefined and nebulous 'sustainable development'. CPRE London is concerned that this changes the balance to favour economic development over and above provision for public transport, amenities, local shops and green spaces. The policy of developing 'brownfield' sites first has also been abandoned. CPRE has identified six London Boroughs that do not have core strategies in place, and may thus be less able to fend off inappropriate development.

We have prepared (Oct 2011) a 6-page response to the NPPF consultation that you can read here (PDF).

In addition CPRE has received legal opinion on the Framework's implications for the Green Belt - see Press Release

Family Housing Study

A study of regeneration at the Elephant and Castle is in progress. This aims to identify factors affecting inner city brownfield sites and their prospects for family housing. It will extend earlier work by CPRE London, including the report on Family Housing in London (see below). Good design and regeneration can protect the Green Belt by providing affordable family housing, with plenty of green space in the inner city, and thereby reducing sprawl. London's famous Georgian squares have higher density dwellings than high rise blocks of flats, proving it is possible to make best use of scarce space while creating pleasant living environments.

> See Inner City Brownfield Housing Developments: The Elephant and Castle (PDF) - presented by Abigail Batchelor at our 2011 AGM.

Family Housing in London

CPRE is seeking to refresh some earlier work it did on the 'power of concentration' and its importance for families in London. Over recent years, CPRE has carried out some case studies of two and three storey housing schemes. These included Coin Street in Waterloo, Colebrooke Place in Islington, as well as sites in Fulham and Peckham. They were reviewed by the architect and designer Sir Richard MacCormac. He concluded that 50dph (dwellings per hectare) was the benchmark to aim for. We will revive and update this material next year.

> See Publications page

London Plan Panel - Briefing

The London Plan will soon be the only Regional Spatial Strategy left in being in England. CPRE considers that such plans provide an essential framework for future strategy, and that public involvement is essential. The Plan will shape development in the capital for the next 20 years. Following an Examination in Public, some changes have been proposed by the Mayor. We have prepared a short briefing note outlining these changes.

> Download the briefing note (PDF).

This page last updated 26th March 2012.