Introduction

With the London local elections now behind us and London looking more politically divided than ever, attention is shifting towards the next major milestone in the capital’s political calendar: the 2028 London Mayoral and Assembly elections.

With less than two years until Londoners return to the polls and around 18 months until campaigning begins in earnest, there is a limited window for the Mayor to demonstrate progress on his commitment to get London building.

Against a backdrop of enhanced call-in powers, greater intervention from City Hall and mounting pressure to meet ambitious housing targets, the coming year could prove one of the most consequential periods in the Greater London Authority’s history.

Each month, Kanda will be sharing an update on what is happening within the GLA and what it means for the development sector.

Andrew Clark – Director of Insights (andrew.clark@kandaconsulting.co.uk)

In this edition:

• The Anatomy of a New London Plan
• Mayoral call-ins – Where City Hall is Stepping in
• New Town, same problems?
• Emergency housing measures in the political crosshairs
• Insights from Deputy Mayor Jules Pipe
• Inside City Hall

The Anatomy of a New London Plan

The forthcoming London Plan is shaping up to be one of the most politically significant planning documents published by City Hall in recent years.

With the publication of the draft London plan expected in the coming weeks, Deputy Mayor for Regeneration and Planning Jules Pipe has been actively laying the groundwork for what is expected to be a more radical step forward for the GLA.

At a recent Kanda event, Jules talked about the challenges facing London and the expectation that the GLA and the Mayor will respond to the targets set by the Government and play its part in driving delivery in London.

The promise of a London Plan that does not ‘increase the burden’ on the sector has been prominent in the narrative surrounding the new London Plan, as has a desire to streamline the document itself.

However, opposition political parties and activist groups are already primed for a battle with the Mayor over the new plan.

With an expectation of further green belt release, a revision to tall building guidance and provisions to encourage greater density at well-connected locations, combined with the continued emergency affordable housing measures and the GLA’s increasingly interventionist approach to calling in individual applications, the consultation on the London Plan is expected to be highly politically charged.

It will be for the GLA and Government to hold their nerve and deliver a plan rooted in unlocking the London development sector during one of the most challenging times in its history.

Key themes to look out for:

• A stronger focus on housing delivery and meeting higher Government targets.
• Streamlining planning policy and reducing burdens on developers.
• C.10 Green Belt sites earmarked for release
• Tall buildings guidance revisions
• Increased density around well-connected transport hubs.
• Continued use of emergency affordable housing measures.

Mayoral Call-Ins – Where City Hall is Stepping In

The Mayor has promised a more robust approach to planning call-ins promising to remove some of the barriers presented by local authorities.  With expanded powers, handed to the mayor by central government and a faster, more streamlined, call-in process there is an expectation that the Mayor may call-in ‘dozens’ of applications a month.

However, with the next mayoral and GLA elections just under two years away, the window for the GLA to recover an application is small. The GLA have been eager to stress that applications struggling with local authorities should be coming to speak to the GLA ‘sooner rather than later’

The last few months have seen a number of major decisions by the Mayor, with major schemes approved in Barnet and several key sites called in following, or in anticipation of, a local refusal.

If the balance of power shifts towards City Hall, then developers could well begin to look at boroughs where the local decision-making process typically carries too much risk with renewed interest.

Recent mayoral decisions

• High Barnet Station/Place, Barnet
  283-home redevelopment approved after Barnet Council refusal.
• Great North Leisure Park, Barnet
  1,485-home Arada scheme approved following refusal by Barnet Council.

Live call-ins to watch

• Stoney Wood Quarter (Barnet): Following refusal of the plans for 463 homes by Barnet Council, the application was recovered by the Mayor of London, with a hearing expected in the summer.
• Phoenix Academy (Hammersmith & Fulham): The Mayor called in the London Square application for 307 new homes and upgraded school facilities at the Phoenix Academy site. This followed a refusal by Hammersmith and Fulham in April.
• Beckton Riverside (Newham): Phase 1 of a major masterplan that will deliver 2,900 homes and more than 5,000sqm of commercial in the Royal docks, submitted by the Berkeley Group. The Mayor took over #f6f4f4decision-making duties from Newham in late April 2026.
• New Malden Gasholder (Kingston): Refused by Kingston Council in March, the 586-unit Berkeley Homes was called in in April. A public hearing is expected in the summer.

New Town, Same Problems?

Enfield Council is set to collide with the Mayor of London and MHCLG over the proposed New Town at Crews Hill and Chase Park.

May’s election saw a new Conservative administration take control of Enfield Council, having stood on a political platform of stopping the New Town.

Conservative Leader Cllr Alessandro Georgiou immediately signaled the Council’s intent to withdraw from the New Towns programme, prompting a war of words that progressively escalated to Mayor of London Sadiq Khan, Secretary of State Steve Reed and ultimately the Prime Minister.

This sets the scene for a battle between a Labour Mayor and Government and a Conservative-controlled Council that is likely to last years.

As the Council has significant land ownership around Crews Hill, any progress on the new town will require aggressive CPO intervention by the Government and the implementation of a Mayoral Development Corporation to deliver the necessary long-term certainty development on this scale will need. This will test the Mayor’s resolve over the coming months, as the new London Plan establishes the scale of the Mayor’s ambitions for London.

Emergency Housing Measures in the Political Crosshairs

Hackney, Lewisham and Tower Hamlets have launched a legal challenge to the decision by the GLA and Government to introduce a temporary 20% affordable housing ‘fast-track’ threshold, to encourage development in a challenging climate.

The councils are seeking a judicial review, alleging that Mayor Sadiq Khan failed to follow due process or consult councils before the decision was made, as well as undermining authorities’ efforts to maximise affordable housing delivery.

Hackney Mayor Zoë Garbett accused the Mayor of ‘bowing to developers’ and called for collaboration between City Hall and boroughs to ‘stand up against developers’ in demanding more. These sentiments were echoed by Lewisham Mayor Liam Shrivastava, while Tower Hamlets’ Mayor Lutfur Rahman suggested that thresholds should be set on a borough-by-borough basis rather than by City Hall.

While it remains to be seen whether the legal challenge will make any progress in the courts, it does signal the political dividing lines being established on the issue. Other Green-controlled authorities including Southwark have expressed support for the challenge, without directly involving themselves at this stage.

At the very least, the authorities involved are likely to seek to hold the line on their own policy positions when considering planning applications, setting up future planning battles with City Hall over the coming 18 months.

Insights from Deputy Mayor Jules Pipe

Deputy Mayor for Planning, Regeneration and the Fire Service Jules Pipe recently joined Kanda for a discussion about the emerging London Plan and to share his views on how the sector can work more closely with the GLA.

At an event attended by developers and consultants working across all parts of the built environment sector, Jules outlined the intent behind the draft London Plan, expected in mid-July and the GLA’s goal to work with developers and local authorities to get London building.

To be added to the Kanda event list, contact insights@kandaconsulting.co.uk.

Inside the GLA

As the GLA takes a more prominent role in driving delivery in the sector, understanding what’s happening at City Hall is more important than ever.

Beyond the Mayor’s team, a wider network of officers and elected members are having discussions on housing, planning, regeneration, growth and wider issues that are making the political weather in the capital.

Each month, we will bring you a summary of the work of the GLA and the London Assembly and how this impacts the wider London development scene.

GLA Planning and Regeneration Committee

The June meeting was focused on climate adaptation and housing resilience, with Assembly Members exploring how London can prepare homes for more frequent and intense heatwaves, a very topical subject given the recent weather. The discussion highlighted the scale of the retrofit challenge facing the capital including funding pressures, and the need to integrate overheating mitigation into broader housing and energy-efficiency programmes.

The Committee also discussed its recently published report on mid-rise housing, ‘Between Skyscrapers and Semis: London’s Missing Mid-Rise Housing’.

As the emerging London Plan promises to explore increased height and density, this is likely to be a major issue of discussion in the coming months and will be seized upon by anti-tall building groups across the capital.

On 1^st July, the Committee also published its New Towns report focused on the proposed sites at Crews Hill and Thamesmead. The report emphasised the need for rapid transport, high-quality design, and community collaboration from the start to avoid past planning failure.

With the London Plan expected to highlight 10 major Green Belt sites for development, critics will likely seize on the contents of the report to further the opposition to green belt development.

The GLA Housing Committee

The Housing Committee’s June 2026 work focused on tenant protections, homelessness and housing supply. Particular attention was given to the implementation of the Renters’ Rights Act, tackling empty homes, and concerns about rough sleeping. The Committee also continued to scrutinise affordable housing delivery and social housing access as part of its broader assessment of whether London’s housing system is meeting residents’ needs.

Mayor’s Question Time

Last month’s edition of Mayor’s Question Time included a spiky exchange between the Mayor and former mayoral rival Lord Bailey over housing, with Bailey accusing the Mayor of failing to provide accurate information on completions and criticising the shortfall in delivery against delivery targets.

Responding to Green Assembly Member Benali Hamdache, Mayor Khan noted that he and colleagues have been looking to international examples, including Vienna, for inspiration on financing of social housing.

The Mayor also confirmed in response to Labour’s Elly Baker that he considers Build to Rent to be an exciting model and is maintaining his lobbying of Government for devolution of rent control powers.

The issue of Section 106 and CIL contributions and how these can best be leveraged to deliver essential infrastructure was raised by Conservative Alessandro Georgiou.. Mayor Khan agreed with the principle of obtaining maximum value from developers, noting that some local authorities perform better in this area than others.

Senior GLA officer announces his retirement

John Finlayson, the long-standing Head of Development Management at the GLA, retired in May 2026 after a career in planning spanning over 40 years. He put away his ‘scale ruler’ to enjoy a well-earned retirement, following an extensive legacy in London’s urban development.

Before stepping down, he was a pivotal figure in the GLA planning team, overseeing major developments, strategic planning, and regeneration across London. He was also a key part of the GLA team responsible for managing mayoral call-ins. With the next wave of mayoral call-ins underway, John’s extensive experience will be missed.

Get in touch

To discuss what the latest developments at the GLA mean for your business, please contact:

Email: insights@kandaconsulting.co.uk
Telephone: 020 3900 3676