Category: Uncategorized

The main work of Just Space and its member groups at the moment is developing ideas about what a London Plan would be like if it were to prioritise — or at least protect — the interests of its citizens, its environment and the real economies in which we meet each other’s needs. Papers and discussions from the 2-day conference 10 & 11 July will be posted on this site and events will be announced to members and/or posted on the events page here.

Some of the work being done is aimed at feeding good ideas to the candidates for the Mayor election in 2016; other work aims to feed research and policy ideas to the GLA planning teams which are working on the next full review of the London Plan.

Just Space has responded to the GLA’s consultation on proposed changes to housing standards and car parking standards. Our response is a stout defence of the need in London for higher housing standards and opposes relaxations of suburban parking limits which would be a shift in the wrong direction.  Download MALP Housing and Parking Standards – Just Space Response Subsequent story + details of hearings in October are here.

Just Space submission to Assembly Regeneration Committee hearing 2 July 2015 on Transport and “regeneration” Just Space has been invited to contribute as a network of community organisations to this enquiry. The request was

The focus of the investigation will be to find out exactly what is the Mayor’s strategy for investing in transport improvements that will promote regeneration. The premise is that, while TfL invests in projects primarily to improve transport capacity, it also invests on the basis of supporting access to development sites which will generate future economic returns. Our focus would be on how transport supports local regeneration, rather than the economic impacts new transport infrastructure may have on the city as a whole. At the moment, it is unclear how the Mayor and TfL decide which transport projects to support on the basis of local regeneration, and what the proven regeneration impacts of transport infrastructure are.

Response:  [download PDF 20150624 JS regen+transport or click “Continue reading”]
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Important and beguiling exhibitions in central London, one of Lucy Rogers’ drawings of threatened industrial work,  ending this weekend, the other of the endlessly samey ‘unique’ buildings we get in London – next week. Details, + other forthcoming events, on our events page.

The Mayor has published new draft Minor Amendments dealing with housing standards and parking standards. Consultations close on  22 June.

Three meetings will be held at City Hall about them

• Thursday 14 May 2015 – Minor Alterations launch event with Sir Edward Lister, 12 noon to 2 pm, London’s Living Room, City Hall
• Monday 18 May 2015 – Housing Standards Minor Alterations consultation event, 10 am to 12 noon, London’s Living Room, City Hall
• Wednesday 27 May 2015 – Parking Standards Minor Alterations consultation event, 10 am to 12 noon, London’s Living Room, City Hall

Details are here on the GLA web site.

Separately the Mayor has published the Draft Interim Housing Supplementary Planning Guidance (SPG) for public consultation for a period of 12 weeks – from 15 May to 7 August. This provides revised guidance on how to implement the housing policies in the London Plan. Proposed revisions take account of the Further Alterations to the London Plan, which was published by the Mayor in March. In addition, draft guidance shows how London’s standards will be affected by the introduction of the Government’s new national technical standards and to provide clarity on what standards apply in the transition period before the adoption of the Minor Alterations to the London Plan (MALP – see above). Other proposed revisions to the SPG have been made to reflect updated evidence, Mayoral strategies and national guidance.

Public consultation events on the housing SPG at City Hall: Two public consultation events were held at City Hall (reservation required). These events take place on:

• Monday 13 July – 9.00 to 11.00
• Thursday 23 July – 15.00 to 17.00

Further details and the Just Space consultation responses are here.

The consultation about the draft Old Oak Common and Park Royal Opportunity Area Planning Framework (OAPF) closed on 14 April 2015.

The London Tenants Federation (supported by a grant from the Trust for London) with members of Just Space have been assisting local communities in and around the OO&PR Opportunity Area who have come together to form the Grand Union Alliance (GUA). There have been a number of meetings of local groups and members of the public, including a Community Conference, which have generated the wide ranging views and comments contained in the ‘compendium’ below. This is substantially the product of local people – that is apart from the editing process to collate the product into an orderly submission. The document is a faithful summation of their comments prompted by scrutiny of the OAPF draft. The GUA did not make a collective response to the draft Framework but elements of the compendium and of a standard template were used by individual members and groups in their separate submissions.

Responses from other Just Space organisations are posted here too. (more…)

London First and the London Enterprise Panel have published London 2036: an agenda for jobs and growth. This is a report on the future of the London Economy, substantially prepared by McKinsey and Co. There is a free download at https://lep.london/publication/london2036  We understand that the status of the report is that it is a submission by London First to the LEP.

The GLA has published for consultation a draft City Fringe Opportunity Area Planning Framework.  This will become Supplementary Planning Guidance (SPG) when approved. Consultations close on Friday 13 February. Download documents at https://www.london.gov.uk/priorities/planning/consultations/city-fringe-opportunity-area-planning-framework  The area now covered by this “city fringe” term is much larger than in earlier usage and surprises many people.

The report by the Inspector on the Further Alterations to the London Plan 2014 has been published on the  GLA website