The May elections in London saw significant change across the capital. 667 newly elected councillors, 20 new planning committee chairs and a third of all planning committee members new to elected office.
We’ve been taking a look at every borough in London to assess their decision making in the six months since May. Take a look at the results.
Committees across London operate in different ways. Some, like Wandsworth, use their one committee to consider all applications – large and small – while others like Barnet preserve their main committee for larger applications and allow area committees to decide on smaller or household applications.
For committee watchers in London, there are recurring themes. Pro-regeneration boroughs with strong political and officer leadership rank highly for approvals – Brent, Ealing, and Hackney deliver almost universally positive determinations. At the other end of the scale, traditionally problematic boroughs such as Bromley, Havering and Richmond remain difficult to navigate.
With the London Mayoral elections only 18 months away, major applications will start to become ever more political. Some boroughs will be spoiling for a fight with Sadiq Khan, particularly those in outer London, and the Mayor will need to continue exercising his substantial planning powers if he wants to boost his numbers and speed up delivery.
For support with your planning application or London development please get in touch on max.camplin@becg.com or call 020 3697 7630.
