Comment
The LLDC Local Plan 2020 to 2036: Good growth for a lasting legacy?
When the London Legacy Development Corporation (LLDC) emerged from the Olympic Development Authority in April 2012 its objective could not have been more ambitious: using the once-in-a-lifetime opportunity of the London 2012 Olympics and the physical legacy of the Queen Elizabeth Olympic Park (QEOP) to create a new dynamic heart for east London.
The vision to bring innovation, growth and physical regeneration to the area in and around Stratford culminated in the adoption of a Local Plan in July 2015, which has since guided various major development proposals and acted as a planning policy framework for key strategic sites such as those within and surrounding the QEOP, Central Stratford, Hackney Wick & Fish Island, Pudding Mill, Sugar House Island or (Imperial at) Bromley-by-Bow.
Whilst it is expected that the Legacy Corporation will transfer its planning powers back to its four ‘host boroughs’ (Hackney, Newham, Tower Hamlets, and Waltham Forest) from 2025, it recently undertook a review of its Local Plan and finally adopted a new, updated version on 21 July 2020: The LLDC Local Plan 2020 to 2036 (the Plan).
Given its time-limited planning powers coming to an end in the not too distant future, developers and applicants may ask themselves what role the Plan will play in shaping the future of the remaining development sites within the LLDC’s jurisdiction, or those that may be again reviewed to further optimise their land uses, layout, massing and, ultimately, public benefits? Will it be a lame duck as the role of the four host boroughs increases over time, or can it really act as another catalyst to maximise development opportunities and accelerate the delivery of new (affordable) homes and jobs?
Housing
With the 2019 Housing Delivery Test (published by the Government in February 2020) showing that the Development Corporation only achieved a 69 per cent delivery rate against its housing targets, and consequently has to add a ‘Buffer’ to its identified need, the aim of the Plan is clear: to provide a positive development plan framework which allows applications to make the most efficient use of their land and results in an increased and accelerated delivery of well-designed new homes, or ‘Good Growth’, as the Plan describes it.
To achieve this, the Plan adjusts the Legacy Corporation’s previous annual housing target of 1,471 new homes and now seeks to provide in excess of 2,154 new housing units per annum (the figure contained in the Intend to Publish version of the Draft London Plan for the LLDC) “through optimising housing delivery on suitable and available sites” (Policy SP.2).
This increased housing target immediately puts pressure on the LLDC (and its Planning Decisions Committee) and developers alike to make best use of all available and deliverable land by optimising site densities and capacities. It will therefore be important to see that the growth aspirations contained in the Plan will be translated into the Legacy Corporation’s decision-making process.
In addition to the traditional provision of new homes in the form of for sale and affordable housing, it is welcomed that the Plan actively supports alternative housing products – of course subject to meeting relevant (policy) requirements and/or identified needs – including Build to Rent, older persons’ (Policy H.3), purpose-built student (Policy H.4) and/or shared living accommodation (Policy H.7). It is also seen positively that the LLDC seeks to build in additional flexibility and – to some extent – future-proofs the Plan by introducing a separate new policy for any other innovative, not further defined or specified, housing models where it can be demonstrated that they contribute towards the wider, strategic housing supply and meet an identified local need for a particular or unique form of accommodation (Policy H.8).
Design and tall buildings
The Plan further manifests LLDC’s leading role as a design-focused, and for applicants often demanding, local planning authority and continues to emphasise the importance of good design and architecture which is expected to meet the highest quality standards, even more so in light of the lessons learned from the COVID-pandemic.
Proposals for tall buildings were previously required to demonstrate compliance with well-known Policy BN.10. Whilst this is now covered under Policy BN.5, applicants are still required to demonstrate that tall building proposals exhibit exceptionally good (previously described as ‘outstanding’) design. To do so, a detailed but refined list of design criteria should be met and confirmed through independent design reviews.
The policy is now also specific in setting out that proposals for tall buildings outside town centre boundaries, or site-specific allocations, will not only need to comply with its specific design criteria, but are also required to achieve significant additional public benefit where proposed building heights result in more than a minor exceedance of the prevailing or generally expected height of the surrounding area (which is also clearly defined in the Plan). Whilst not closing the door to tall buildings outside identified areas, robust justification will be required to demonstrate their acceptability and it will be interesting to see how this and other design-related policies will be applied in practice.
Industrial and employment focus
The Legacy Corporation still places great emphasis on the delivery of a diverse set of land uses in the areas within and surrounding the QEOP including the creation and/or intensification of high-quality employment floorspace across various locations, ideally incorporating a degree of affordable and/or managed workspace.
Reflecting relevant policy directions contained in the Draft London Plan, Policy B.1 also contains guidance on the future of the LLDC’s designated industrial areas (including Strategic, Locally Significant, and Other Industrial Locations) and provides the basis of a plan-led process for their intensification, consolidation and, where identified, co-location with other uses, i.e. residential or retail. It is expected that this process will further be subject to any supplementary guidance published by the GLA following the adoption of the Draft London Plan.
In addition, it remains to be seen how the LLDC will adapt and/or interpret its policies and site allocations relating to uses which are subject to the Government’s reform of the Use Classes Order, published only a day after the adoption of the Plan, to provide clarity to applications and to avoid potential conflicts or ambiguity.
Sustainability and climate change
Aligning the Plan with the direction of the emerging Draft London Plan also means that other key policy themes are again up-to-date with applicants being expected to factor in the highest sustainability standards when designing new developments such as, for example, latest energy, carbon reduction, waste, overheating and urban greening, drainage and flood protection measures, thereby mitigating and minimising the effects of climate change.
Community Infrastructure Levy
In May 2020, the Legacy Corporation Board also adopted a revised CIL Charging Schedule (‘LLDC CIL2’) which came into effect on 1 July 2020. Whilst not resulting in any fundamental changes, it adjusted individual charges to reflect the indexed amounts from the originally adopted Charging Schedule in 2015 and no longer exempts commercial uses outside the ‘Stratford Retail Area’ which are now charged at £20 per square metre (index linked). Any specific requirements and CIL due for new developments approved on or after 1 July 2020 will need to be reviewed on a case-by-case basis.
The Plan certainly has the potential to provide a strong policy framework which allows the Legacy Corporation to work hand-in-hand with applicants in delivering its key objectives and growth targets in order to accelerate the delivery of new (affordable) homes and long-lasting regeneration benefits over the coming years. However, looking further ahead, it will be similarly important for the four boroughs to align the objectives, strategies and policies contained within the LLDC Local Plan 2020 to 2036 with their own Plans to ensure a smooth transition when they integrate the Legacy Corporation area.
For further information, or to discuss specific aspects, please contact Christopher Schiele.
7 August 2020