What is the London Plan?
It is the Mayor of London’s strategic planning policy for the whole of London and covers housing, design, social infrastructure (health, education, sports), the economy, heritage and culture, green space and the natural environment, sustainable infrastructure (air quality, emissions, waste), transport, and strategies and places for growth.
Legally it must be taken into account by the 32 London Boroughs in their decision-making. (The City of London must too, plus the Mayor’s Development Corporations at the Olympic Park and Old Oak Common.) The ‘Local Plans’ prepared by these boroughs have to be ‘in general conformity’ with the London Plan.
The London Plan is normally revised or re-written with each 4-year Mayoral term, which involves months of lead-up and consultation, ending with an Examination in Public (EIP) by government Inspectors, before it is published. The next London Plan draft is due in spring/summer 2026.
How do people have a say?
Since the first London Plan in 2004, Just Space has worked to bring Londoners into the process of its production, and into the Examination in Public, to make the authorities aware of how their strategic policies impact ordinary people at ground level. Community groups have brought a wealth of unique evidence and knowledge that would not otherwise have been considered, and have initiated and influenced some improvements. Just Space will shortly be organising this input again. We have to contend with the deep pockets of property developers and other special interest groups, who lobby strongly to get the Plan’s policies to benefit their interests.
And they succeed. Over the past 25 years the London Plan has encouraged the financialisation of property and the building of speculative housing that does not produce the homes we need or can afford – with a cost in carbon emissions that is not properly counted or controlled. The truth is that the London Plan has proved unfit for purpose.
The Mayor’s new draft London plan 2026
We will be encouraging maximum participation in the consultations on the new draft. Our Alternative London Plan for a caring city (April 2026) covers many of the key issues and will be a focus in responding to the Mayor’s proposals. Just Space submitted comments and proposals in 2024 on the first stage of the new Plan, and made strong representations in 2025 on ‘Towards a new London Plan’.
You can contribute to these arguments and keep in touch with the London Plan process via this website, or get involved by contacting us .
The Mayor of London has been resistant to the participation of community groups in the lead-up to his new draft Plan, with far less co-operative working than in previous years. More on this here: Is the Mayor restricting our participation?