The Land, Planning and Development Federation (LPDF) has responded to the Draft London Plan 2026. While we support the Plan’s focus on housing and economic growth, our consultation response highlights critical soundness concerns that risk worsening London’s housing crisis rather than solving it:
- Significant Housing Deficit: The Plan falls short by 290,000 homes over the next decade against the Standard Method requirement, adopting a capacity-led approach that contradicts national policy.
- Unrealistic Viability & Density Rules: The Mayor’s Optimisation Framework effectively leads to high-density apartment led schemes despite weak market demand, especially in Outer London. With the GLA’s own viability study showing that a significant majority of tested scenarios are unviable, rigid policies will only stall development.
- Flawed Green Belt & Land Assumptions: Restrictions on Green Belt release, no strategic assessment of Metropolitan Open Land, and unworkable approaches to land value have the potential to remove economic incentives for landowners, risking a significant reduction on private land supply.
- Exporting Housing Strain: By failing to meet its own needs, London risks shifting massive demographic and housing pressure onto the wider Southeast region without any evidence of meaningful cross-boundary engagement.
In order to contribute fully to the Government’s ambition of delivering 1.5 million new homes this Parliament, London requires a deliverable, needs-led strategy that unlocks all housing sources and works with current market realities, not against it.
Read our full response here.
