The draft City Plan 2040 provides a planning and policy framework that will guide the growth of the Square Mile over the next 16 years.
It will underpin the City of London Corporation’s strategic priorities, including powering a growing, vibrant and competitive economy. Key policy drivers include provision for an additional 1.2m sqm of office floorspace by 2040 and transforming the Square Mile into a seven-day-a-week cultural and leisure destination.
Early engagement
The draft City Plan 2040 was approved by the City of London Corporation’s Planning and Transportation Committee for consultation on 31 January 2024 and its Court of Common Council on 8 March 2024.
Ahead of the Planning and Transportation Committee meeting, the CPA submitted a letter emphasising the City’s unique role in delivering economic growth for London and the UK. The letter formed late addendum items for the meeting and can be read here (page 4).
Formal and public consultation on the draft City Plan 2040
The City of London Corporation conducted its Regulation 19 consultation on the draft City Plan 2040 from 18 April to 17 June 2024. On behalf of members, CPA submitted a response welcoming the City Corporation’s vision and proposing a number of recommendations to ensure that there is sufficient Grade A floorspace in the City and better balance the cultural benefits delivered by major developments to ensure that they remain viable and deliverable.
You can read our response here and view the initial consultation website here.
Submission to the Secretary of State
Following the consultation, the City Corporation made some very minor modifications to the draft City Plan 2040 prior to submission for to the Secretary of State for examination. The draft Plan was submitted on 29 August 2024 and can be viewed here.
Additional representations
CPA submitted additional representations to the Planning Inspectors’ Matters, Issues and Questions ahead of the Examination in Public (EiP) of the draft City Plan 2040, proposing that the Plan should target 1.9m sqm net additional office floorspace by 2042 in addition to adopting the recommendations of our Cycling & the City report.
You can read the Inspectors’ Matters, Issues and Questions here and our Further Matter Statements here.
Public hearings
EiP hearings for the draft Plan began on 25 March 2025 and will last until 12 June 2025.
The first set of EIP hearings from 25 to 27 March 2025 covered legal requirements, the wider spatial strategy, offices and office floorspace targets, and discussions on retail, culture and design. The CPA was represented at the hearings by CPA Chair Ross Sayers (Head of Development Management, Landsec), CPA Board planning advisor Jeremy Randall (Partner, Newmark) and the Newmark team, with Richard Ward (Director, DP9) also giving evidence.
EiP will continue from 29 April to 1 May 2025, where the Inspectors will consider a range of matters including sustainability, greening, climate resilience and highways. You can view the full calendar of public hearings here and all documents relating to the EiP here.
Additional heritage and tall buildings consultation
The City Corporation will be making some modifications to its ‘jelly mould’ in the draft Plan, which shapes the height of tall buildings in the Eastern Cluster. As a result, the City Corporation will be conducting a targeted consultation on changes to its proposed tall buildings cluster over the coming weeks and prior to the rescheduled EiP hearings on heritage and tall buildings from 10 to 11 June 2025. CPA will be responding to this consultation.
