Last week saw the start of the Examination in Public (EiP) for the City of London Corporation’s draft City Plan 2040 which, once adopted, will be the principal document guiding development in the Square Mile up until 2040. The Newmark team representing CPA at EIP share their reflections on the first week of EiP below.
The first week of EiP hearings, running 25 to 27 March 2025, was split into three parts. Day one covered legal requirements, overarching issues and the wider spatial strategy; day two focused on offices and the appropriate office floorspace target for the Plan period; and day three saw discussions on retail, culture and design.
The CPA has been continuously engaging with the City Corporation on the emerging policies of the Plan and was represented at all of last week’s sessions by CPA Chair Ross Sayers (Head of Development Management, Landsec) and Newmark’s Jeremy Randall (CPA Board planning advisor and Partner), Suzanne Thurtle (Associate – Knowledge and Policy Lead) and Beth Hawkins (Associate).
Day one: Legal requirements, overarching issues and the wider spatial strategy
The first day of hearings started with an impassioned statement from Shravan Joshi, the current Chairman of the Planning & Transportation Committee, where he emphasised the strong political backing for the draft City Plan 2040 and how it encapsulates a vision for the Square Mile that will ensure development is socially, environmentally and economically sustainable. Shravan highlighted the economic importance of the Square Mile, which has been a place of commerce since its inception, and as such the draft Plan is principally focused on the delivery of a significant amount of high-quality, new and refurbished office space.
The rest of the day saw the main parties set out their stall, with Historic England and St Paul’s Cathedral arguing that the tall building policies as currently drafted will lead to significant heritage harm. Whilst detailed discussions on tall buildings will not take place until 10 and 11 June, City Corporation officers defended the Plan from a position of general conformity with the London Plan and National Planning Policy Framework, and meeting legal tests of soundness. Speaking on behalf of the CPA, Jeremy Randall supported the City Corporation’s position, adding that the economic importance of the Square Mile to the Government’s wider growth agenda must be recognised.
Day two: Offices
Day two saw detailed debate around the office policies, in particular the proposed net additional office floorspace figure. CPA Chair Ross Sayers explained that, whilst the CPA acknowledges that the City Corporation’s proposal for 1.2m sqm of net additional office space is a minimum, the evidence (based on a scenario whereby workers return to the office 80% of pre-pandemic times as opposed to a ‘hybrid peak’ where workers are in 2.5 days a week) points towards a need for a minimum of 1.9m sqm.
The City of London Corporation recognised that demand for offices is strong and the 1.2m sqm is definitely a minimum, not a maximum, with Rob McNicol (Assistant Director – Planning Policy and Strategy) referencing a number of additional sites being suggested by proposed modifications to the Plan and a potential new tall building area. Updated information will be published in advance of the hearings on heritage and tall buildings in June, to inform the discussions at those sessions.
Day three: Retail, culture and design
On day three, Jeremy Randall made the case for the City Corporation taking a proportionate approach to the provision of cultural facilities in developments in order to ensure that developments remain viable and deliverable. Officers responded that flexibility was offered through the Cultural Planning Framework, adding that a Culture Supplementary Planning Document (SPD) would be prepared to provide formal guidance.
Retail and design were also discussed, with the Inspectors acknowledging the good working relationship between the City and the CPA in addition to encouraging parties not to make the policies too prescriptive, in line with the CPA’s suggestions.
Next steps
EiP hearings will resume at the end of April, when Inspectors will consider a range of matters including sustainability, greening, climate resilience and highways.
Further reading:
Response: City Plan 2040
Response: City of London City Plan 2040 Examination – Matters, Issues & Questions
Report: Cycling & the City
Report: Supporting the City’s economic growth and development pipeline
Blog: Things to look out for in the City Corporation’s transformative draft City 2040 by Jeremy Randall
Blog: Tall buildings, heritage and the future of the office by Jeremy Randall
