Helping London authorities deliver with a Placeshaping Capacity Survey

There is a consistent decrease in the average team size over time, from 88 down to 67 FTE (Full-Time Employees) roles. This suggests that boroughs are facing challenges in maintaining and growing their placeshaping capabilities, which could impact their ability to effectively plan and shape the built environment.

There has been a more significant increase in roles focused on regeneration, economic development, capital delivery and property management. This shift may indicate a recognition of the need for a more diverse set of skills and expertise to address the complex challenges of placeshaping, beyond just the regulatory roles. Additionally, the slight increase in smaller, specialised teams covering areas like parks, open spaces and urban design suggests boroughs are working to develop a more diverse set of capabilities to tackle the complex challenges of placeshaping.

Local authorities are currently lacking expertise in areas like digital planning, biodiversity, waste management, inclusive design and energy efficiency, which are in high demand. This highlights the growing importance of sustainability and the need for boroughs to build their capacity in these critical areas.

The top-ranked barriers are all directly related to funding, including lack of available funding, uncertainty over future funding levels and difficulty in setting appropriate pay scales. These financial constraints are limiting the local authorities' capacity to staff up and develop the expertise required for effective placeshaping.

Boroughs are prioritising retaining and upskilling existing staff, relying on temporary and contract-based workers and seeking specialised support from the GLA and cross-borough collaboration. These approaches suggest a recognition of the need to be creative and flexible in addressing their capacity challenges.

Boroughs feel better established in design-focused disciplines but less so for broader challenges. The data indicates that boroughs feel most prepared in their ability to deliver high-quality design, understand and deliver new housing typologies and apply strategic urban design/spatial planning approaches. However, they feel less prepared to address the broader economic challenges, such as the cost-of-living crisis and expected economic downturn, as well as sustainability-related issues facing their communities.

The top useful resources for boroughs are the GLA's Good Growth by Design publications/programme, TfL Guidance Documents, London Plan Guidance resources and the Public Practice placement program. This suggests that the GLA is playing an important role in supporting boroughs' placeshaping efforts by providing valuable guidance, publications and access to specialised expertise.

The data shows a significant achievement, with all but one borough now having an established design review panel in place. This widespread adoption of design review mechanisms represents an important step forward in ensuring design quality and scrutiny across London's built environment.

Boroughs have specialised teams dedicated to functions like regeneration, economic development, high street management and strategic property oversight. This diversity highlights how councils take a tailored approach to serve their communities, going beyond basic statutory duties.

Capacity is not evenly distributed, with outer boroughs having less diverse non-statutory roles to reflect their priorities compared to inner boroughs. Capacity does not necessarily align with development pressure, leaving some authorities comparatively under-resourced.