22.06.2026
DHA Planning’s Rebecca Hornsby recently attended the London Planning Conference 2026, hosted by Landmark Chambers, which brought together leading voices from across the planning, legal and development sectors to discuss the future direction of planning policy in the capital. With the Deputy Mayor for Planning outlining emerging thinking on the next London Plan, the event provided valuable first-hand insight into how policy is likely to evolve over the coming years.
Below, we summarise the key themes emerging from the conference and provide our perspective on what they mean in practice.
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The draft London Plan is expected to be published shortly, with consultation anticipated to follow over the summer and early autumn. This will mark an important step in shaping London’s strategic planning framework for the next two decades.
From a practical perspective, the consultation stage will be critical. There is an opportunity for developers, landowners and local authorities to influence the emerging policy position — particularly in areas such as housing delivery, Green Belt release and infrastructure provision.
A clear message from the conference was the intention to significantly reduce the length and complexity of the London Plan. The emerging approach will focus on removing duplication and creating a more concise and navigable set of policies.
While this should improve usability, it is likely to place greater emphasis on how the London Plan interacts with national policy and borough-level Local Plans. In practice, careful alignment across all tiers of policy will remain essential when promoting and delivering development.
The next London Plan is not expected to increase the overall burden of planning policy requirements on development, but it will continue to uphold high standards, particularly in relation to design quality and sustainability.
This suggests a shift in emphasis — away from introducing new layers of policy, and towards ensuring that existing expectations are applied consistently and effectively. For applicants, this reinforces the importance of robust, well-evidenced submissions from the outset.
One of the most notable themes was a clear shift towards a more pragmatic approach to Green Belt policy. The London Plan is expected to support the selective release of Green Belt land, supported by a strategic review to identify suitable locations.
However, any such release is likely to be accompanied by expectations of higher-density development, ensuring that land is used efficiently and delivers meaningful levels of housing. In this respect, design quality, accessibility and sustainability will remain central to the acceptability of proposals.
In contrast to the Green Belt, Metropolitan Open Land is expected to remain strongly protected, with only very limited exceptions.
This distinction reinforces the hierarchy of protection across London’s open spaces and signals that proposals affecting designated MOL will continue to face significant policy constraints.
A key discussion point centred on the ongoing challenges associated with delivering affordable housing in London. There was clear acknowledgement that traditional cross-subsidy models — where affordable housing is funded through private development — are under increasing strain.
In practice, this reflects a wider viability challenge facing the development sector, driven by rising construction costs, borrowing rates and policy expectations. While the London Plan will continue to prioritise affordable housing delivery, the reality is that new approaches may be required, whether through increased public funding, greater flexibility in policy application, or more innovative delivery models.
For applicants, this reinforces the importance of robust, transparent viability evidence and early engagement with decision-makers when bringing schemes forward.
There was also strong debate around whether London can realistically meet its housing needs within its own administrative boundary. Some industry voices suggested that even with policy reform, delivery is likely to fall significantly short of identified need.
This has important implications beyond London itself. It indicates an increasing reliance on authorities across the wider South East — including areas such as Kent, Essex and Surrey — to accommodate unmet housing need through strategic planning.
From a DHA perspective, this underlines the growing importance of cross-boundary collaboration and the need for Local Plans to respond positively to wider housing pressures. It is also likely to create further opportunities for sustainable growth in well-connected locations beyond London.
Another theme emerging from the conference was the influence of national policy on the scope for local innovation. Concerns were raised that changes to the National Planning Policy Framework could limit the ability of local authorities to adopt policies that diverge from nationally set standards.
This could have particular implications in areas such as energy efficiency and sustainability, where some London boroughs have historically sought to go beyond national requirements.
In practice, this points towards a more standardised approach to policy across the country, which may improve consistency and certainty for developers. However, it could also reduce flexibility at a local level, particularly in responding to specific environmental or placemaking priorities.
Taken together, the direction of travel for the next London Plan is becoming clearer. The emphasis is firmly on creating a more streamlined, delivery-focused framework that seeks to balance the need for increased housing provision with the continued importance of design quality, sustainability and liveability.
At the same time, the Plan will need to respond to a complex set of challenges — including viability constraints, infrastructure delivery, and the limited availability of land. The increasing willingness to consider Green Belt release signals a more pragmatic approach, but one that will need to be carefully managed to ensure that development is sustainable and well-integrated.
As the draft London Plan moves towards publication, the months ahead will be critical in shaping its final form. Engagement during the consultation process will be key, particularly for those promoting strategic sites or seeking to influence emerging policy areas.
For clients, the overarching message is one of both opportunity and challenge. The evolving policy landscape presents new potential routes to delivery — particularly in relation to land release and housing growth — but will continue to require a strong evidence base and a clear understanding of policy alignment at all levels.
DHA Planning is actively monitoring the progress of the next London Plan and the wider changes to national and regional planning policy.
If you would like to discuss how these emerging policy shifts may affect your site, project or land promotion strategy — particularly in relation to housing delivery, Green Belt opportunities or Local Plan engagement — our team would be pleased to assist.
Please get in touch with us to arrange a discussion.
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