ATLAS LDN

Following close collaboration with the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government (MHCLG) and Homes England (HE), ATLAS LDN is launching as a new service within the Greater London Authority’s (GLA) Planning & Regeneration service. It will operate as a branch of national ATLAS, fully funded by MHCLG’s Planning Capacity & Capability Programme. It will collaborate closely with the NHA and across the public and private sector.

ATLAS LDN is a new, independent service providing coordinated planning capacity and expertise to unlock live and pipeline residential led sites, accelerating the delivery of high-quality development, promoting best practice and championing the value of public sector planning.

The service will offer:

1. Free, independent expert planning support: Access to a highly experienced team of planners and specialists (design, viability, biodiversity, energy, etc.) at no cost to the borough, reducing pressure on local resources.
2. Accelerated delivery of housing and development: ATLAS LDN helps unlock stalled or complex sites, speeding up planning processes and enabling faster delivery of high-quality housing and regeneration projects.
3. Increased capacity and resilience A trusted partner providing additional planning capacity for boroughs, supporting large applications and master plans, helping councils manage workloads and support housing delivery.
4. Collaborative, problem-solving and strategic connections: Direct links to central government, GLA/TfL, statutory consultees, and other public sector partners to resolve strategic issues and unblock barriers to development.

ATLAS LDN is inviting London Boroughs to put forward sites that need planning assistance. Support can include: 

• Planning applications 
• Master plan preparation 
• Pre-applications 
• Conditions approval 
• Site appraisals 

We recommend three priority sites per borough, but additional sites are welcome, especially those suited to specialist support (Option 2 below). 

The ATLAS LDN team will prioritise sites with the greatest impact. As the programme grows, more opportunities will open for boroughs to submit further sites. 

There are 2 options for support:

OPTION 1: LARGE APPLICATIONS & MASTER PLANS

(ATLAS LDN CORE PLANNING TEAM)

• Dedicated planner assigned to your site and access to specialist expertise (energy, biodiversity, etc.)
• Direct support targeted towards larger schemes (typically 100+ homes)
• Leveraging other programmes, strategic convening powers and connections
• Proactive, delivery led planning reducing risk
• No cost to boroughs

OPTION 2: ALL MAJOR RESIDENTIAL SITES (10+ HOMES)

(SPECIALIST TECHNICAL SUPPORT)

• Targeted technical assistance provided (energy, biodiversity etc) but without a dedicated ATLAS LDN planner allocated to the site 
• Not limited to large schemes and considered for sites of 10 or more homes.  
• Shared specialist resource across boroughs where needed  
• Unlocking housing delivery across a number of sites which, cumulatively, will make a meaningful impact 
• No cost to boroughs