Chairman's Question to Guests (Supplementary) [7]

Sir Edward Lister (Chief of Staff and Deputy Mayor for Policy and Planning):  What we have done within the Plan is to try to give as much flexibility to the boroughs as we possibly can.  You are absolutely right.  The Central Activities Zone we have really gone very hard on and I think you would have expected us to on that.  Also, we have the dispensation from the Government, which I must quickly add we are still fighting the Government to retain because it is under threat as well.  However, in other areas outside the Central Activities Zone, all we have been able to do is to put words within the Plan that help the boroughs as much as they can to protect some of that office space.  There is little more that we can do other than that.

Tony Arbour AM:  Is Stewart going to add something to that?

Stewart Murray (Assistant Director – Planning, Greater London Authority):  We are doing some work with all the London boroughs on assessing the impact in London on the office market in terms of loss of floor space and potential jobs and with the office stock to residential.  What we are going to do is work closely on the full review of the London Plan to see how we can approach that and obviously make sure that the Government has this information.

We are also supporting the boroughs in looking at how they approach their employment areas and their mixed-use areas such as town centres.  A good one is Croydon town centre, where they are looking to release a number of office areas but to do that constructively through the plan-making process.  We are aware that about 500,000 square metres of office floor space has potentially been lost to outer London and so we are doing what we can through the policy plan and tilting the policy slightly back towards employment rather than towards release for all-residential.  However, permitted development rights trump policy.

Tony Arbour AM:  I understand that.  A further disappointment to me in particular relates to what Sir Edward said, again in response to Fiona Twycross.  Basically, you said that the Government has already decided and that has just been backed up: permitted development rights trump everything.

Of course, it is not our job to lie down in front of the Government and permitted development rights if we think that there is something wrong about them.  Certainly, I consider it my job to represent those people who have sent me here if we see something that is patently wrong.  It is quite clear from the correspondence the Mayor had with the Minister on this that he thinks this particular change is patently wrong.

I would very much like to hear from you that despite the fact that the Government has already decided, you are not giving up the fight and particularly that the Mayor is not giving up the fight on this one.  Otherwise, despite all the warm words that appear in this, if it looks as though we have given up, all that help you are going to be giving to the boroughs will be for naught.

Sir Edward Lister (Chief of Staff and Deputy Mayor for Policy and Planning):  No.  I can reassure you of this.  Please accept that this document has to go through an EiP and has to be signed off by the Secretary of State and so we have to be compliant with Government policy.  This document is compliant.  We have pushed the protection of offices as hard as we can without falling foul of that, but we are continuing and the Mayor is continuing to lobby on a very regular basis.  I think he is actually seeing Vince Cable [Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills] very soon to keep that lobbying going.

Tony Arbour AM:  That will not do much good, will it?

Sir Edward Lister (Chief of Staff and Deputy Mayor for Policy and Planning):  That lobbying is continuing.  We have to keep that battle up because it is not just permitted rights in outer London.  We have a threat in inner London as well and so it is actually quite a serious issue.

Tony Arbour AM:  Thank you, Chairman.