Out-Law News 1 min. read

Government's six-point plan for London includes London Land Commission and new planning powers


UK chancellor George Osborne has set out a six-point plan intended to maintain London's position as "the greatest capital city on earth", including proposals for a new London Land Commission to identify land suitable for redevelopment.

In a speech last week, Osborne said he agreed with mayor of London Boris Johnson that the capital's housing supply was "the number one challenge facing the city". The chancellor confirmed that London's first nine housing zones, which are expected to deliver 28,000 new homes by 2025, had been designated and announced plans for the creation of a commission to help identify public and previously developed land for development.

"We're going to create – the government and the Greater London Authority – a new London Land Commission that will identify all the public sector and brownfield land in London, helping us to develop all the suitable sites available," Osborne said. "That will help London meet its target to deliver 400,000 new homes by 2025, providing a lasting solution to the housing problem."

Osborne said the government intended to devolve additional powers to the mayor of London, including "new powers over planning".  He said the government would "back unashamedly" science, finance, technology and the arts in the capital, committing to "get[ting] Thomas Heatherwick's Garden Bridge built" and announcing that funding had been allocated for a feasibility study into "giving London a world-beating modern concert hall".

Also included in the Osborne's plans were measures to attract investment and improve London's digital connectivity; proposals to create "half a million more jobs in the next five years"; and a commitment "to provide London with £10 billion for new transport improvements" such as Crossrail 2, an extension to the London Underground's Bakerloo line and the redevelopment of west London's Old Oak Common as a transport hub.

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