Policy GG3 — Creating a healthy city

GG3 Creating a healthy city To improve Londoners’ health and reduce health inequalities, those involved in planning and development must: A ensure that the wider determinants of health are addressed in an integrated and co-ordinated way, taking a systematic approach to improving the mental and physical health of all Londoners and reducing health inequalities B promote more active and healthy lives for all Londoners and enable them to make healthy choices C use the Healthy Streets Approach to prioritise health in all planning decisions D assess the potential impacts of development proposals and Development Plans on the mental and physical health and wellbeing of communities, in order to mitigate any potential negative impacts, maximise potential positive impacts, and help reduce health inequalities, for example through the use of Health Impact Assessments E plan for appropriate health and care infrastructure to address the needs of London’s changing and growing population F seek to improve London’s air quality, reduce public exposure to poor air quality and minimise inequalities in levels of exposure to air pollution G plan for improved access to and quality of green spaces, the provision of new green infrastructure, and spaces for play, recreation and sports H ensure that new buildings are well-insulated and sufficiently ventilated to avoid the health problems associated with damp, heat and cold I seek to create a healthy food environment, increasing the availability of healthy food and restricting unhealthy options. Delivering the homes Londoners need Delivering the homes Londoners need 1.4.1 Few things are as important as a suitable home, but for many Londoners the type of home they want, and should reasonably be able to expect, is out of reach. In 2016, the gap between average house prices in London and the rest of the country reached a record high, and the private rental cost of a one-bedroom home in London is now more than the average for a three-bedroom home in any other English region. A housing market that only works for the very wealthy does not work for London. 1.4.2 The state of London’s housing market has implications for the makeup and diversity of the city. Affordable housing is central to allowing Londoners of all means and backgrounds to play their part in community life. Providing a range of high quality, well-designed, accessible homes is important to delivering Good Growth, ensuring that London remains a mixed and inclusive place in which people have a choice about where to live. The failure to provide sufficient numbers of new homes to meet London’s need for affordable, market and specialist housing has given rise to a range of negative social, economic and environmental consequences, including: worsening housing affordability issues, overcrowding, reduced labour market mobility, staff retention issues and longer commuting patterns. 1.4.3 The lack of supply of the homes that Londoners need has played a significant role in London’s housing crisis. The 2017 London Strategic Housing Market Assessment has identified a significant overall need for housing, and for affordable housing in particular. London needs 66,000 new homes each year, for at least twenty years, and evidence suggests that 43,000 of them should be genuinely affordable if the needs of Londoners are to be met. This supports the Mayor’s strategic target of 50 per cent of all new homes being genuinely affordable, which is based on viability evidence. 1.4.4 The London Plan is able to look across the city to plan for the housing needs of all Londoners, treating London as a single housing market in a way that is not possible at a local level. In partnership with boroughs, the Mayor has undertaken a Strategic Housing Land Availability Assessment to identify where the homes London needs can be delivered. Ten-year housing targets have been established for every borough, alongside Opportunity Area plans for longer-term delivery where the potential for new homes is especially high. Boroughs can rely on these targets when developing their Development Plan Documents and are not required to take account of nationally-derived local-level need figures. 1.4.5 To meet the growing need, London must seek to deliver new homes through a wide range of development options. Reusing large brownfield sites will remain crucial, although vacant plots are now scarce, and the scale and complexity of large former industrial sites makes delivery slow. Small sites in a range of locations can be developed more quickly, and enable smaller builders to enter the market. Building more housing as part of the development of town centres will also be important, providing homes in well-connected places that will help to sustain local communities. 1.4.6 The homebuilding industry itself also needs greater diversity to reduce our reliance on a small number of large private developers. New and innovative approaches to development, including Build to Rent, community-led housing, and self- and custom-build, will all need to play a role, and more of our new homes will need to be built using precision-manufacturing. Alongside this, there will need to be a greater emphasis on the role councils and housing associations play in building genuinely affordable homes. 1.4.7 There are a range of other measures that have an impact on the availability of homes. For example, existing homes must not be left empty, and have the potential to be brought back into use as affordable housing, and boroughs should use all the tools at their disposal to ensure that homes are actually built after planning permissions are granted. 1.4.8 Delivering the housing London needs will be a huge challenge that will require everyone involved in the housing market to work together. Along with the London Housing Strategy, this London Plan establishes the framework that will make this possible, helping to make London a city that everyone who wants to can call home.London Plan Policy GG3 · official source →