1,220 sites across London covering 43 Hyde Parks can between them
accommodate between 250,000 and 300,000 new homes alongside
workplaces, according to new analysis carried out by Create
Streets for Policy Exchange.
Londoners want mixed use neighbourhoods with terraced housing,
mansion blocks and mid rise blocks set in traditional streets and
combined with shops, amenities and workplaces. In Better
Brownfield, we set out how to achieve higher density by
using land better and redeveloping sites which are currently
dominated by ‘big box’ single storey retail and industrial sheds.
We also provide a template for what this might look like on one
real life site.
The report recommends that the GLA and City Hall should work with
residents and businesses to adopt Community Codes: design
standards worked up with local residents to define what they want
in terms of land use, design and style. With London’s council
elections now complete, we recommend that City Hall should work
with London boroughs to:
-
· Champion
mixed use neighbourhoods and define them clearly in the new
London Plan
- · Widen
the current focus on building up and instead intensify land use
and follow traditional street patterns
- · Ensure
that quality, design and style are central to ensure local
support for development.
Susan Emmett, Policy Exchange’s Head of Housing and Urban
Regeneration, who co-wrote the report, said:
“If we are going to build the homes we need, then we have got to
use London’s land better and work with local communities.
Building mixed use neighbourhoods along traditional street
patterns helps get the balance right between the need for more
homes, workplaces and local amenities. It makes more sense
in terms of land use and encourages people to walk, which has
added health benefits.
“Aesthetics matter to win public support. We need to build homes
in beautiful neighbourhoods where people want to live, work and
socialise.
“The Mayor and the GLA face a huge challenge to deliver the
66,000 new homes a year London needs. The new London Plan
is the ideal opportunity for the Mayor and the GLA to set out
their expectations of developers.”
Nicholas Boys Smith, founder of Create Streets, and the co-author
of the report, said:
“We can do better for London’s future residents. Too many plots
in our capital city are dominated by ‘big box’ single storey
sheds, often owned by large retailers, which use land in an
inefficient and outdated way. Good growth needs good density.
It’s time to banish ‘boxland’ and build mixed use, high density
neighbourhoods.”
This report is published as Policy Exchange announces the launch
of our new Liveable London project, which will be headed up by
our incoming Director of Policy and Development Liam Booth-Smith.
Liam will be joining Policy Exchange from Localis, where he is
the Chief Executive.
