The Draft London plan 2026

Mayor of London, Sadiq Khan, published the draft London Plan on 16 July 2026. It is nearly half the length of the current (2021) London Plan and has been  deliberately streamlined and more closely aligned with the National Planning Policy Framework, with the mayor retaining a distinct London-specific approach only in a small number of areas.

Consultation on the Draft Plan is now open and runs for 13 weeks, closing 15 October 2026, ahead of an independent Examination in Public in 2027 and expected adoption in early 2028.

The BCO is keen to collect member insight on the plan with a view to delivering a response to the consultation on behalf of members and the wider office sector and some clear messaging around core issues for members to utilise in their own responses.

To make sure the BCO response reflects the practical, on-the-ground experience of our members we are inviting views on any or all of the below, or anything else in the Draft London Plan that impacts the design, development, delivery and operation of commercial offices.

Please send comments, evidence or case studies to BCO research director Eric.chong@bco.org.uk or chief executive Samantha.mcclary@bco.org.uk by COB on Friday 25 September, allowing us time to draft before 15 October.

While the below is not exhaustive, the BCO team has identified a number of priorities in the draft plan that could impact how office buildings are designed, engineered, developed, delivered and operated.

These include:

• Cycle space provision: the draft London Plan proposes a significant relaxation of cycling parking restrictions compared with the adopted 2021 Plan. Under the current plan office developments much provide cycle parking based on floor space, the new draft plans moves away from floorspace towards a figure based on percentage of full-time staff. The draft assumes 1 employee per 15sq m NIA, which would mean reduction in provision by around 25%. The plan also allows for reduced provision where full compliance would require additional basement construction, would materially affect viability, where the building has a small footprint relevant to its overall floorspace and where the density or scale of the development generates a very large requirement that has a disproportionate effect on requiring what could otherwise be lettable floorspace.

• Reducing duplication with Building Regulations: A consistent theme of the draft plan is an intent to strip out London-specific requirements that duplicate national regulation, while preserving a small number of areas where the Mayor considers a distinct London approach still justified

• Energy efficiency: the plan sets a more consistent approach across London, with earlier consultation options ranging from retaining current London-specific targets to aligning fully with the national Future Homes and Buildings Standards

• Overheating: options considered in the run-up to the draft included removing bespoke London overheating policy in favour of reliance on Part O of the Building Regulations, retaining the cooling hierarchy, or continuing to require full modelling. Developers will be encouraged to use shading, natural ventilation and building orientation to keep buildings cool without relying solely on mechanical cooling. Air conditioning is not banned and can still be specified alongside passive measures.

• Whole life carbon and retention-vs-demolition: expect continued (and possibly strengthened) London-specific requirements here, including streamlined reporting formats

• Tall buildings: The new draft London Plan has a more strategic and prescriptive approach to tall buildings than the current London Plan and explicitly states that tall buildings will play a role in delivering growth. It calls for more mid-rise intensification.

• Central Activities Zone strengthened: the plan aims to strengthen the CAZ and support new strategic economic clusters, signalling continued protection of core commercial office locations.

• Space for AI and life sciences clusters: the plan seeks to ensure sufficient land for modern, efficient industries, including AI and life sciences.

• Affordable workspace protections: provisions aim to secure affordable workspace so businesses have room to start up, grow and succeed.

• West End and 24-hour economy protections: the plan supports the Oxford Street transformation and protects music venues, theatres, pubs and cultural spaces, which is relevant to amenity-led office schemes and CAZ placemaking.

• Fire safety kept as a London-specific exception: the Mayor has chosen to retain a targeted London approach on fire safety rather than defer entirely to national Building Regulations

You can read the new draft London Plan in full here.