The Government must amend the Levelling Up and Regeneration Bill to avoid having a detrimental impact on local plans and on the Mayor’s ability to create ambitious planning policies for London, following an investigation by the London Assembly. 

An investigation into the Bill and other proposed planning reforms was carried out by the London Assembly Planning and Regeneration Committee, focussing on the national reforms and how they would work for London. 

Ahead of a debate on the Bill in the Lords, the Committee has published a report highlighting that some of the reforms could prevent the London Plan and local plans from meeting local needs. 

The Committee supports the ambition of increasing public participation in local planning matters, but it is “not content with the limited level of detail set out by the Government on how all of these reforms would function”, and how they would result in a more accessible planning system which meets local needs. 

Chair of the London Assembly Planning and Regeneration Committee, Sakina Sheikh AM, said: “We have a responsibility to ensure Londoners can influence their communities, and the planning process plays a vital role in helping us to achieve this. We want London to be able to set ambitious planning targets to adapt to the challenges we are facing, and the Bill could undermine the Mayor’s ability to do just that.”