“The UK government's recent AI announcement has significant implications for the country's planning system. As AI continues to evolve, its integration into the planning process can help streamline procedures, improve efficiency, and create more responsive, data-driven decision-making frameworks.
One key impact is the potential for AI to assist in planning applications and assessments. AI systems can analyse large datasets, helping to predict trends, assess environmental impacts, and model potential outcomes of new developments. This could lead to more informed, evidence-based decisions and reduce the time spent on manual analysis. For example, AI could be used to assess the sustainability of new housing projects by modelling their environmental impact or predicting the long-term demand for housing in specific areas.
Furthermore, AI tools could enhance public consultation processes by analysing public opinions, tracking sentiment, and identifying common concerns across multiple submissions. This could lead to more responsive and inclusive planning policies, allowing for better alignment with community needs and priorities.
The government’s focus on ethical AI also means that the use of AI in planning will be closely regulated. As planning decisions have significant consequences for local communities, ensuring transparency, fairness, and accountability in AI decision-making is crucial. Ethical frameworks will be necessary to ensure that AI applications in planning do not perpetuate biases or unfairly disadvantage certain groups.
Additionally, AI could help optimize resource management in urban planning, such as predicting traffic flows, optimizing public transportation routes, or determining the best locations for new infrastructure projects.
In essence, the integration of AI into the UK planning system offers the opportunity for a more data-driven, efficient, and responsive approach, while also ensuring that ethical considerations are addressed. This will shape the planning landscape in the years to come.”
Now, if you’ve read this far, you might be thinking that this POV isn’t in the usual LDN style or perhaps Nick has gone all formal as part of some New Year’s resolution.
Well, you’d be right in one respect – to go with the spirit of the Government’s focus this week, I tasked an online AI tool to write, in 300 words, what their announcement on AI means for planning. I’ll admit it’s a pretty good high-level summary, produced in a split second. We know it’s not infallible and you get back from AI tools what you put in, but the technology is improving almost daily.
The fact is that the planning process is an area which could be transformed by AI, something explicitly recognised this week by Ministers. If it leads to greater efficiency, this is not only good news for hard-pressed local authorities but by speeding up the process, it’d deal with one of the biggest frustrations for all sides. Freeing up resource to deploy elsewhere could also benefit the large, complex and more strategic aspects of the planning system.
But there are risks too – might the same technology be deployed by organised opponents of development to spam the planning process on an industrial scale? We’ll certainly need to be mindful of the downsides, but alongside the Government’s proposed radical changes to the planning process with mooted automatic approval for schemes conforming with planning policy, embracing AI might well prove a key ingredient.
Nick Bowes
Managing Director, Insight
SECTOR UPDATE
HS2: A Never-Ending Story
Leadership shake-up: All change at HS2 Ltd with Chairman Sir Jon Thompson stepping down in the Spring. Big job ahead for Thompson’s successor to steady the ship amid the turmoil of the past couple of years.
Too many cooks? Appearing before the Transport Select Committee this week, National Infrastructure Commission Chair Sir John Armitt didn’t mince his words, blaming too much Government involvement for HS2’s delays and spiralling costs. His solution? Make HS2 Ltd a truly independent body to ‘get on’ with the job.
Costs spiralling out of control: The bill is now projectedto hit as much as £80bn, up 15% from last year’s estimates. Despite this, new Transport Secretary Heidi Alexander has dismissedthe latest estimates and ordered HS2 Ltd to rework the figures to slash costs. The reality? Nobody knows the final bill.
Whistleblower warnings: Adding fuel to the fire, a former head of planning at HS2 Ltd has accused MPs and Ministers of ignoring whistleblowers amid spiralling costs. The individual claims that HS2 Ltd undervalued the cost of buying up land for the project by £2bn and calls for an independent fraud investigation.
What to do with Euston? The cost of extending HS2 from Old Oak Common to Euston now exceeds £7.5bn, according to a leaked Department for Transport document - £6bn for tunnelling and the new HS2 station, plus £1.5bn to revamp the existing station. Rail Minister Peter Hendy has also confirmed plans for a single shared concourse with the existing mainline terminus – placating those who feared having two platform 1s and the inevitable confusion this would create for passengers! With the number of platforms dedicated to high speed trains scaled back to six (from the originally planned ten), some are concerned any future extensions to HS2 could be scuppered by capacity constraints at the London end of the line.
A hub in the making: Network Rail’s ambitions for Euston include a life sciences hub, capitalising on the area’s Knowledge Quarter status, while the recently-established Euston Housing Delivery Group is tasked to ‘drive forward an ambitious housing and regeneration initiative for the local area’. Reports suggest an addition to Euston’s already complex governance might yet come in the form of some kind of Development Corporation.
Cab rank rule: With the wider area stalled as a semi-building site, taxi drivers are unhappyat congestion and road layouts affecting their access to ranks at Euston. So planning and logistical challenges in the area are certainly starting to mount. Amid the challenges, former Transport Secretary Louise Haigh’s legacy lives on – she insisted the big screens at Euston displayed train information rather than advertisements.
A northern snub: While Euston gets the attention, Manchester won’t be seeing a HS2 link with Birmingham any time soon, after the Chancellor quashed hopes of a new line (a plan proposed by the mayors of the two cities), opting to focus instead on connectivity within the north of England as opposed to the West Coast mainline.
Still years to go: With a completion date in the early 2030s, the saga of HS2 looks like dragging on for years to come and final costs remain a mystery.
POLITICAL UPDATE
London Politics Roundup
Another one bites the dust: City Minister Tulip Siddiq resigned after being named in an anti-corruption investigation in Bangladesh. Siddiq, Labour MP for Hampstead and Highgate, has been the focus of scrutiny over her ties to her aunt, the former Bangladeshi prime minister who was deposed last year. Despite the Prime Minister’s Standards Adviser saying that there was no ‘evidence of improprieties’, Siddiq resigned anyway, claiming that continuing in the role would have been a ‘distraction’. Emma Reynolds MP replaces Siddiq, while economist-turned-MP Torsten Bell slots into Reynolds’ former role across Treasury and the Department for Work and Pensions (and might shake things up).
Express legislation: Better news for the Government (and for renters) as the Renters’ Rights Bill speeds through Parliament, sailing through third reading in the Commons this week. Slotted in to the Bill is an additional clause banning landlords from asking for more than one month’s rent in advance – an increasingly common practice, especially in the capital. The Bill will now move to the Lords, with the Government hoping to keep up the momentum to get the reforms on to the statute book by the summer.
Council cash crunch: Amid an ongoing local government funding crisis, unsurprisingly most local authorities are taking measures to protect their finances. 15 of the capital’s councils are reportedly planning changes to their ‘council tax reduction schemes’, which exempts the poorest residents from paying, while most are expected to increase council tax bills by 4.99% - the maximum before a referendum is required.
Odd one out:Newham is an exception, with the council seeking special permission from the Government to increase council tax by a whopping 9.99% to help plug a huge budget deficit of £157m, but avoid having to hold the normal local referendum to gain approval. The Council blames surging temporary accommodation costs for the funding gap.
Mayoral monies: Meanwhile, the Mayor of London confirmed a 4% increase to his share of council tax to provide extra funding for the police and fire service, saying that his top priority is ‘keeping Londoners safe’. The increase is expected to raise £54m for policing – some way off the £450m the Met Commissioner thinks is needed - and just under £5m for the London Fire Brigade.
Build it and they will come: The Elizabeth Line is officially the UK’s busiest train line, racking up over 500 million journeys since opening in May 2022. New Transport for London (TfL) analysis reveals the line’s far-reaching impact, with an increase in housing growth around stations between 2017 and 2022, as well as approximately 378,000 additional jobs having been created between 2015 and 2022. If only there were other shovel-ready London transport projects that could bring similar benefits…
Friday fares fail: On the other hand, efforts to encourage more Londoners onto public transport on Fridays have not gone quite as well. TfL’s trial of cheaper Friday fares failed to make any ‘noticeable difference’ to the number of journeys, with the Mayor saying that he has charged TfL with looking at other solutions to encourage people back, including taking the lead from other cities, with Khan’s remarks fuelling the prospect of free coffees for commuters.
Mansion Expansion: The Mayor, along with the great-and-the-good of London’s government, gathered at Mansion House last week for the annual London Government Dinner. Joining leaders and senior officers of London’s councils, senior figures from City Hall and an encouraging number of MPs were LDN’s Robert Gordon Clark and Nick Bowes, squeezing (post-Christmas festivities) into their best bibs-and-tuckers for the evening.
January, February: Dinner guests were treated to speeches from the Lord Mayor of London, Chair of London Councils (and Leader of Lambeth) Claire Holland and Mayor Sadiq Khan. In an unprecedented coordinated show, all three majored on the forthcoming London Growth Plan, with Khan announcing the plan will focus on supporting AI and technological innovation, targeting the generation of another £172bn for the city’s economy. The London Growth Plan is expected to be published near the end of next month and LDN will bring you the very latest when it arrives.
OUR WEEK
Greenwich Peninsula in the Spotlight
On Wednesday evening, the LCA team had the pleasure of hosting ITV at Greenwich Peninsula on behalf of our client, Knight Dragon. During the broadcast, ITV delivered the national weather report, making multiple references to Greenwich Peninsula and the abundance of public art available on site, including six Damien Hirst sculptures. The segment, aired during the UK-wide evening primetime viewing slot just before the broadcast of Emmerdale, reaching millions of viewers. It demonstrates a great achievement for both the LCA team and our client, made possible by the strong relationships we have cultivated with ITV.
THE LONDON LOWDOWN
London Media Landscape Latest
London Weak End Television: Farewell, London Live, the city’s local TV station, which ceases broadcasting this Sunday. Launched with much fanfare in March 2014, the station – owned by Evening Standard owner Lord Evgeny Lebedev – was the focus of much ridicule for low viewing figures and reportedly lost £20m over its lifetime. Just two weeks ago, Lebedev sold London Live to the Local TV Network conglomerate, but this doesn’t appear to have saved the channel from closure.
Standard Toil: This is the latest in a period of upheaval in London’s media. After losing £85m over six years, the Evening Standard ended printed daily editions last year after 197 years, launching The London Standard, a new weekly print edition last September. After overseeing the move, editor Dylan Jones departed in November. Four months on, the paper has so far maintained its 64 pages and snagged some very high-profile interviews…
City A.M.: Proving not to be immune from the winds of change, following the takeover in 2023 by THG, City A.M. saw the departure of editor Andy Silvester last summer (to later in the autumn re-appear as the new London Editor at The Times), with former editor Christian May returning to the role. In January 2023, City A.M. dropped the Friday printed edition, and just last week confirmed that Monday’s would go the same way.
New kids on the block: Out of the turmoil, several new digital upstarts have emerged, promising to shake up the city’s media landscape. London Centric, fronted by former Guardian, Buzzfeed and City A.M. journalist Jim Waterson (first making his name in 2013 frying an egg in the glare of the newly-opened Walkie-Talkie building). Promising “no clickbait, no bullshit, no oligarchs pulling the strings. Just quality, original journalism about London”, so far London Centric has broken a number of exclusives on the TfL cyberattack, Sadiq Khan’s secret plans for road charging and who funds the London Standard (leading to a spiky altercation with Standard owner Lebedev). All good profile-raising content!
The New Establishment: Not all online news outlets are new to the scene. Some, such as Londonist and MyLondon, have been around for a while. And not forgetting OnLondon, run by friend of LDN (and former Guardian journalist) Dave Hill, which churns out high quality, insightful and varied pieces from a range of contributors on the big issues facing the city.
Where next? Even the BBC isn’t insulated from the winds of change, with major cuts in local broadcasting effecting London in recent years. And with the downward pressure on print media showing no signs of abating, and with people consuming news and content in an ever-broader number of ways, the period of change in London’s media landscape shows no sign of slowing just yet.
PEOPLE NEWS
Louise Daville has joined global real estate adviser Avison Young as director in its public sector team.
Avison Young has also appointed Guy Spencer from BNP Paribas Real Estate to the role of life sciences and workspace director in its national investment team.
Michelle Reynolds, the chief customer officer at Clarion has announced her intention to leave the sector, so she can prioritise her family and travel more.
Greystar has hired Mary Craddock as a new managing director for European portfolio management.
Duncan Wilson, the chief executive of Historic England, will step down in October after 10 years in the position.
London Fire Commissioner, Andy Roe KFSM, is set to retire after five years in the role.
Muse has appointed Lisa Gledhill as managing director of national partnerships.
Miller Homes has appointed Richard Akers as its new chair. He has previously held positions at Land Securities and Barratt.
Sue Shirt has stood down from her role as chief customer officer at housing association Stonewater following a cancer diagnosis last year.
CBRE has promotedTim Hamilton to the role of chief growth officer for its UK occupier business.
Close Brothers Property Finance has appointedChiara Caldwell to the newly created role of managing director of structured finance, to spearhead business growth across the purpose built student accommodation and build to rent sectors.
Cain International has appointed Lisa Feifer to the newly created role of global head of capital formation.
London Square’s for-profit registered affordable housing provider, Square Roots, has promoted former Waltham Forest Council leader Clare Coghill to chair. She previously served as vice-chair for the past three years.
Supermarket Income REIT has appointed Roger Blundell, the former chief financial officer of Grosvenor’s UK business, as a non-executive director.
Schroders Capital has appointed Peter Lowe to head the firm’s UK real estate investment arm, in addition to his existing fund management responsibilities.
It has been reported that General Sir Nick Carter (former chief of the defence staff), Tom Fussell (head of the BBC’s commercial arm) and Debbie Hewitt (chair of the Football Association), have been appointed as inaugural members of the Government’s Soft Power Council. Its aim is to help the government decide how to deploy soft power and where to support its foreign policy objectives.
LONDON PLANNING NEWS
Alliance Property Asia’s office-led development at 101 Whitechapel High Street has been granted planning approvalby Tower Hamlets Strategic Development Committee, despite it having been recommended for refusal by planning officers. The plans would create a part-four, part-12, part-17 storey tower comprising 433,624 sq ft of office space and a 1,076 sq ft community hall in Whitechapel. Similar proposals for a tower on the site were previously rejected in 2018 and 2021.
Qatar-based Barwa Real Estate has received planning permission from Westminster City Council for a change of use and external alterations to Park House at 453-497 Oxford Street. The plans include the creation of a 10,764 sq ft medical centre, a 9,837 sq ft restaurant and a competitive socialising space of up to 21,528 sq ft across the basement and ground floors. At least 54,932 sq ft of retail space will be retained as part of the redevelopment.
The Planning Inspectorate has ruled that the Comer Homes scheme in Woolwich, which was given a demolition order after it was found to have breached planning permission, can stay but some design changes must be made. The developer has been given three years to fix issues on the Mast Quay Phase II development, which was handed an enforcement notice by Greenwich Council in September 2023 following the discovery of 26 ‘main deviations’ from the consented plans. The developer will have to pay £4.4m towards affordable housing elsewhere as its affordable housing provision fell 40 homes short of the 35% required under Greenwich Council planning policy. They also have to pay £2.3m in community infrastructure levy payments.
Unite Students’ purpose-built student accommodation scheme in Paddington has been recommended for approval by Westminster City Council planning officers. The proposals include two buildings of 12 and 20 storeys, providing 605 student beds (30% of which will be affordable), and a re-provided Travis Perkins builders’ merchant. The latest plans are Unite’s third version of the scheme, with the previous plans being rejected due to having a ‘significant negative impact’ on the amenity and adjacent residents.
Barnet Council and Bouygues have submitted plansfor a large-scale regeneration scheme in Burnt Oak. The Riverside Approach project would deliver 359 homes, 177 of which will be affordable, in buildings of six to thirteen storeys, alongside a new library, nursery, public park, community spaces and employment services hub.
Great Portland Estates is preparing a planning applicationfor the redevelopment of St Thomas Yard near London Bridge after two previous applications for the site were both rejected by the Secretary of State on heritage grounds in 2023. Similar to the previous proposals, the plans would involve the partial demolition, extension and renewal of the buildings onsite to provide additional office space, resulting in the addition of five storeys to create a 10-storey building. This would create an additional 134,979 sq ft of office space, less than half what was proposed in 2018.
The London Fire Brigade (LFB) is planning to move its headquarters back to the Art Deco building on 8 Albert Embankment where it was based for 70 years. LFB has unveiled new proposals to refurbish and upgrade the grade-II listed building. This decision means that they will no longer go ahead with a previous agreement with Landsec U & I on plans to redevelop the building as housing and build two residential towers of 26 and 24 storeys to the rear of the site.
CAUGHT OUR EYE
LCA’s Insight Team bring you their personal choice of reads from across London and the built environment.
LCA prides itself on our intelligence-led approach and our dedicated Insight team monitors London’s politics, news and issues as it happens. If you would like to know more about LCA more generally or our Insight work in particular,please get in touch.
Balance and accuracy
We strive for balance and accuracy at all times; however, if you feel we have made a mistake, omission or have misrepresented a story or issue please alert the team by contacting the LDN team.
LCA, 8th Floor, Berkshire House, 168-173 High Holborn, London, United Kingdom WC1V 7AA
-1-1.png?upscale=true&width=200&upscale=true&name=Untitled%20design%20(3)-1-1.png)
-1-1.png?upscale=true&width=300&upscale=true&name=Untitled%20design%20(2)-1-1.png)
