Planning


The London Plan and Local Development Frameworks

Local Development Frameworks are a folder of documents prepared by the local planning authority, usually the borough council. These documents outline the spatial planning strategy for the area. All Local Development Frameworks must be in general conformity with the Mayor’s London Plan.

Planning at a local level

In 2004, the government introduced a new planning system to manage how development takes place. It is a two-tiered system:

Tier 1 - Spatial Development Strategy

The Mayor of London is responsible for preparing the London Plan, the Spatial Development Strategy for London.

Tier 2 - Local Development Frameworks (LDFs)

The Local Planning Authority is responsible for preparing the Local Development Frameworks. The LDF consists of Local Development Documents (DPDs) that have ‘development plan’ status and Supplementary Planning Documents that do not have development plan status but supplement the development plan documents. Examples of DPDs include Core Strategies, Development Control Documents and Site Specific Proposals and area specific Action Plans. The Mayor issues his opinion on the general conformity of DPDs with the London Plan within a six week consultation period and is represented at Examinations in Public if his opinion is that the DPD is not in general conformity

The LDF, together with The London Plan, will determine how the planning system helps to shape your community. The London Plan provides Londonwide policies to help achieve the Mayor’s vision for London. Whilst the LDFs provide more focused and localised policies to shape development within the borough to achieve the council's vision.

The policies and proposals in the LDF deal with a range of issues, including:

  • the number of houses needed and where they should be located
  • how much land is needed for different employment uses, such as offices, business and warehouses
  • the relationship between how people travel and the places they use most frequently
  • protecting areas of historic, archaeological, wildlife or scenic importance
  • the provision of recreational facilities
  • the Green Belt and Metropolitan Open Land
  • the location of shops, services and community facilities
  • balancing the above in the interests of sustainable development.

London boroughs

Planning-related