MyCity: LONDON

WHAT DO OUR PREDICTIONS MEAN FOR REAL ESTATE IN LONDON? HOW SHOULD THOSE IN THE PROPERTY SECTOR REACT TO THE OPPORTUNITIES AND CHALLENGES PRESENTED BY THIS VISION?

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A collaborative approach to unlocking schemes – The best schemes are proven to be those that comprehensively address place, and draw a wide ‘red-line’. Unlocking these schemes requires collaboration between existing landholders, which can be challenging where interests are misaligned. We call for a common approach to managing the public estate to exploit synergies between assets, and for the landed estates to drive a more proactive approach to their interests. We also call for a proactive approach to replanning the outer London town centres, including the use of compulsory purchase and accelerated and ‘smarter’ planning processes to provide certainty for master developers. Create the conditions for economic reinvention – As the world economy gravitates eastward, and as talent, businesses and tourists become more footloose, incentives must be provided to anchor the best of these to our capital. We call for a planned transition to the new economy of London, where fiscal stimulus is targeted at growth industries and where for instance VAT RES policies are applied to ensure the success of catalytic activities. 04 Public realm improvements – London’s central road network, largely designed for medieval foot and horse traffic, has become a parking lot. It is time to take the brave step of significantly reducing the number of cars in the central zone. This will reduce pollution, promote humans over traffic, and return a vast amount of space that could be used for a mix of green space, public realm improvements catering towards communities and new development. In turn this will facilitate an opportunity for a regreening of our capital, transforming London from a city based on asphalt and concrete to a more natural state. 05

New approach to housing – Housing is the biggest urban pain point. If London can get housing right, then its ability to drive performance in other areas, such as talent attraction, succeeds in parallel. We call for the planning authorities to be ambitious and proactive in unlocking large scale delivery of housing, particularly in the outer borough town centres. The public sector should look at ways to play an economic role in delivery, and the private sector will need to explore new funding and construction methods. A stronger partnership between the two will be critical. 01 Inclusive approach to development – By creating inclusive growth where all benefit from urban change, London will not only do the right thing, but also create the conditions for delivery against broader-based factors such as crime, public health and the economy. We call for a private sector charter on regeneration in London that ensures large schemes service the needs of a broad cross-section of stakeholders and help to narrow the gap between the haves and have-nots. This would include an approach to managing gentrification to benefit both existing and new residents, avoiding displacement to enable everyone to be able to access the resources and opportunities developments can bring, and securing both social and environmental amenity to defined standards. 02

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