The publication of the Draft London Plan 2026 marks an important moment for London’s planning and development landscape. While consultation runs until 15 October 2026, the direction of travel is already clear: a more streamlined, delivery-focused plan that seeks to maximise affordable housing, support economic growth and maintain London’s ambitions for climate, design and place-making. 

At Newsteer, we’ve reviewed the Draft Plan to assess what it could mean for developers, investors, occupiers, landowners and the public sector. Our analysis highlights a more pragmatic, commercially relevant approach that seeks to balance ambition with deliverability and investor confidence. 

A more pragmatic approach to growth

The Draft London Plan should be read as a positive, growth-focused strategy for London over the next two decades. Rather than simply increasing housing targets, it focuses on where growth can realistically be delivered, the infrastructure needed to unlock it, and how London can remain internationally competitive while addressing its housing challenges. 

The Plan proposes a target of 558,000 new homes between 2027 and 2036, while acknowledging that meeting the Government’s higher assessed housing need will require significant infrastructure investment, stronger market conditions and additional affordable housing support. 

Growth will be shaped by place and infrastructure

Opportunity Areas remain central to London’s growth strategy, with continued emphasis on brownfield regeneration, town centres and well-connected locations. The report notes that these areas will continue to benefit from strong policy support for higher-density, mixed-use development, while infrastructure investment will be critical to unlocking delivery. 

The Draft Plan also recognises that infrastructure delivery, viability and market conditions will ultimately determine whether housing ambitions can be achieved. 

A changing approach to housing delivery

Although London’s housing target increases by almost 7% compared with the adopted 2021 Plan, one of the most significant changes is the redistribution of housing targets across boroughs.

The report identifies substantial increases in several outer London boroughs, reflecting a new capacity-led methodology that considers both brownfield and greenfield opportunities. At the same time, delivery risk will remain highly location-specific, influenced by local politics, infrastructure, viability and planning policy. 

Brownfield remains first – but Green Belt policy evolves

One of the most notable policy changes is the Draft Plan’s approach to Green Belt land.

Brownfield development remains the priority, but the Plan now recognises that brownfield land alone cannot meet London’s long-term housing needs. It therefore introduces a more selective, plan-led approach to Green Belt release in sustainable, well-connected locations where development can deliver wider public benefits. 

The report concludes that this represents a significant shift towards a more commercially realistic strategy, although delivery will continue to depend on borough support, infrastructure funding, viability and Local Plan reviews. 

Supporting higher-density development

The Draft Plan introduces a new Optimisation Framework and Sustainable Access Measure (SAM) to guide residential density and building heights according to accessibility and local context.

The report highlights a clear policy direction towards mid-rise development across a much wider range of locations, while recognising that Opportunity Areas and designated tall building locations may support greater density where appropriate. 

New thinking on tall buildings

The Draft Plan also changes the way tall buildings are assessed.

The threshold for a tall building increases from 18 metres to 30 metres, with a new category introduced for metropolitan tall buildings over 100 metres. Greater flexibility is proposed for schemes outside designated tall building areas, while stronger strategic support is provided for major clusters across London. 

Continued support for specialist accommodation

The report identifies stronger policy support for Purpose-Built Student Accommodation (PBSA) and co-living, bringing both within a single specialist accommodation policy.

New borough-level PBSA targets, greater recognition of their role in housing delivery and regeneration, and continued support for co-living are all seen as positive changes that should provide greater confidence for developers and investors. 

A more flexible approach to affordable housing

Affordable housing remains central to the Mayor’s ambitions, but the Draft Plan acknowledges today’s very different viability landscape.

Rather than relying on a single London-wide threshold, the proposed approach links affordable housing expectations more closely to local market conditions and different types of development. The report concludes that this represents a more commercially realistic framework, with success ultimately measured by whether more homes are actually delivered. 

Positive signals for commercial property

Beyond housing, the Draft Plan continues to support London’s wider economy.

The report identifies positive policy support for:

• Town centres as mixed-use growth locations.
• Hotels and visitor accommodation in accessible locations.
• Modern office and employment space in strategic commercial centres.
• Industrial and logistics uses as essential components of London’s future economy. 

#OurSteer

Overall, the Draft London Plan represents a more pragmatic and commercially relevant planning framework. It recognises current market realities while maintaining ambitious objectives for housing, economic growth and regeneration.

The opportunity is clear, but successful delivery will depend on infrastructure investment, funding, viability and political support across London’s boroughs. As our report concludes, the challenge will be turning policy ambition into planning permissions, starts on site and completed development. 

Download the full report

For a detailed assessment of the Draft London Plan consultation, including borough-by-borough housing targets, Green Belt policy, density, affordable housing, PBSA, town centres, offices and industrial land, download our full report here.

Another year at UKREiiF and another reminder that, across the property and regeneration sector, the conversation has shifted from ambition alone to deliverability.

The optimism and energy across Leeds remained strong throughout the week – despite the weather (!) – but many of the most interesting discussions centred on a shared challenge: how do we continue to unlock growth, regeneration and housing delivery in an environment where viability remains under sustained pressure?

That theme came through consistently across panel sessions, client conversations and wider industry discussions.

One of the standout moments for Newsteer was Geena Bains speaking at a regeneration-focused “Opportunity Hounslow” session, where she shared practical insights from our work at Convent Way in Hounslow.

Her reflections were refreshingly honest and closely aligned with the realities many projects are currently facing. Viability pressures, policy constraints and wider macroeconomic uncertainty continue to place significant strain on delivery, particularly in London where cost inflation and stagnant sales values are affecting confidence across the market.

Yet while the challenges are well understood, Geena’s central message was clear: successful regeneration still depends on confidence, collaboration and trust.

In increasingly complex projects, credibility matters. Residents, local authorities, developers, funders and delivery partners all need confidence in both the vision and the route to delivery. Future-proofing schemes, establishing the right partnerships and maintaining a relentless focus on outcomes are becoming just as important as the technical and financial aspects of development itself.

Newsteer is supporting the regeneration of Convent Way, providing advice on procurement, land assembly, viability and business case development as part of the wider delivery team.

The wider policy and planning discussions across UKREiiF reinforced many of the same themes.

Speaking at the “Get London Building Again” session, Deputy Mayor for Housing and Residential Development Tom Copley acknowledged that viability and macroeconomic shocks are currently being felt particularly acutely in London. He also highlighted the forthcoming streamlined London Plan, expected to be significantly shorter and designed to reduce duplication while encouraging greater flexibility in how policy is applied.

That move towards flexibility was echoed in several planning sessions across the week, particularly discussions around whether a more rules-based planning system under the draft NPPF would help accelerate delivery or risk reducing the flexibility needed to respond to real-world viability and site-specific challenges.

There was also significant focus on the need to simplify and standardise aspects of the planning process. Discussions highlighted proposals for more standardised Section 106 agreements for small and medium-sized schemes, alongside calls for clearer national policy mapping and greater consistency within local plan policies – while still allowing for local variation where genuinely necessary.

Affordable housing delivery remained high on the agenda throughout UKREiiF. There was broad recognition that funding remains heavily oversubscribed, with strong competition expected for future allocations. At the same time, small sites are expected to play a much more significant role in housing delivery under the emerging London Plan framework – a move likely to generate both opportunity and local debate.

The conversation around confidence also extended into government and delivery agencies more broadly. Several speakers acknowledged the importance of restoring confidence across the sector, particularly amongst SME housebuilders, with Homes England discussions focusing heavily on the proposed Housing Bank and the need to accelerate housing delivery through quicker adoption of policy reforms.

Taken together, many of the discussions at UKREiiF pointed towards an industry trying to adapt to a new operating environment. The market is not standing still, but successful delivery increasingly depends on realistic assumptions, stronger partnerships and a willingness to evolve traditional approaches.

Alongside the formal sessions, UKREiiF remains one of the most valuable opportunities in the calendar to reconnect with clients, partners and industry peers. Newsteer’s annual Flight Club event once again proved hugely popular, bringing together clients and colleagues for an evening of competitive darts, networking and conversations that continued well beyond the exhibition halls.

If there was one clear takeaway from this year’s event, it was that the industry still has ambition – but delivery, flexibility and confidence are now at the centre of the conversation.