My letter to Sadiq Khan
Dear Sadiq,
I am writing to contribute to the consultation on the Draft London Plan. I am pleased to see housing delivery and tackling the climate crisis placed at the heart of your vision for London’s future. These challenges are deeply interconnected and are among the issues of greatest concern to residents across Putney, Roehampton, Southfields and Wandsworth Town.
I welcome the ambition set out in the draft Plan and offer the following comments on areas of particular importance to my constituents.
Chapter 2: Making Best Use of Land and Achieving Good Growth
MBUL5: Sustainable Transport to Enable London’s Growth
I strongly welcome the emphasis on high-quality sustainable transport as a foundation of London’s future growth. However, several longstanding transport challenges in my constituency must be addressed if residents are to benefit fully from that vision.
Fixing Hammersmith Bridge
The single most important transport priority for Putney remains the full restoration and reopening of Hammersmith Bridge.
The continued closure of the bridge has created a transport crisis across Putney, Roehampton and surrounding areas. Residents face unreliable bus services, overcrowding, increased traffic congestion, longer journey times and worsening air pollution. The closure has placed unsustainable pressure on local transport infrastructure and significantly reduced connectivity for thousands of residents.
Improving Public Transport Connectivity
I welcome the Plan’s recognition of the role that sustainable transport plays in connecting communities to jobs, services and opportunities.
This is particularly important for Roehampton, which lacks direct Underground or National Rail connections and is heavily dependent on bus services. Improving bus reliability and frequency would have a transformative impact on residents’ ability to access employment, education, healthcare and leisure opportunities across London.
Active Travel
I also strongly support the draft Plan’s commitment to active travel.
Many residents already walk, run and cycle for transport and recreation, particularly along the Thames Path and routes linking Putney with Richmond Park. However, greater investment in safe cycling infrastructure would enable many more people to choose active travel.
This is particularly important in Roehampton, where cycling rates remain relatively low due to limited infrastructure and barriers such as the cost and availability of secure cycle storage. Increasing access to safe and affordable cycling supports public health, reduces carbon emissions and eases congestion for everyone.
Accessibility
Accessible transport must be a core principle of London’s transport system.
Far too many of my constituents are unable to use East Putney Station because it lacks step-free access and is served only by steep staircases. People with disabilities, older residents, parents with pushchairs and those with temporary mobility impairments are effectively excluded from using the station.
Delivering step-free access at East Putney should therefore be identified as a priority within the Plan’s transport objectives.
The Wimbledon Branch of the District Line
The Wimbledon branch of the District line has been left behind by recent modernisation programmes and is increasingly unreliable as a result.
My constituents experience regular suspensions, delays and cancellations. These are not minor inconveniences. They affect people’s livelihoods, family responsibilities and access to healthcare.
Residents regularly:
- Arrive late for work and face disciplinary action or lost earnings.
- Struggle to manage school and childcare drop-offs and collections.
- Miss medical appointments, hospital consultations and treatments.
- Lose valuable time with family and caring responsibilities.
- Face uncertainty when travelling for education or training.
Local businesses are similarly affected when employees cannot rely on public transport to travel to work consistently.
Reliability figures underline the scale of the problem. While the wider District line achieved significantly stronger performance, the Wimbledon branch continues to underperform. This translates into thousands of lost services each year.
The longstanding issues between TfL and Network Rail must be resolved and the Wimbledon branch should be prioritised for future upgrades rather than being allowed to fall further behind the rest of London’s transport network.
Cycle Parking and Sustainable Travel
I strongly support the draft Plan’s proposals to expand cycle parking provision.
Through local consultations, many constituents have told me that they would cycle more often if they had access to secure storage. This is particularly true for residents living in flats, who make up a significant proportion of households across my constituency.
The London Plan should therefore:
- Require significantly greater cycle storage provision in new residential developments.
- Encourage secure and lockable cycle hangars on residential streets.
- Incentivise retrofit cycle storage solutions within existing developments.
- Ensure cycle parking provision reflects real demand rather than minimum standards.
Secure storage is often the difference between cycling being a realistic transport option and not cycling at all.
Chapter 3: Delivering the Homes and Neighbourhoods Londoners Need
HN1: Increasing London’s Housing Stock
HN3: Delivering Affordable Housing
I strongly welcome the commitment to delivering 558,000 new homes between 2027 and 2036, alongside the long-term ambition for 50 per cent of new homes to be genuinely affordable.
However, I remain deeply concerned that one of London’s most important regeneration projects, the Alton Estate regeneration in Roehampton, is being delayed and at risk of being reduced despite overwhelming local support and need.
The Alton Estate Regeneration
The Alton Estate is home to more than 13,000 residents and is one of the largest housing estates in the country.
For over a decade, residents have lived with uncertainty as successive regeneration proposals have failed to progress. During that time, the estate has continued to deteriorate despite widespread recognition that substantial renewal is required.
The history of the Alton Estate demonstrates both how regeneration can go wrong and how meaningful community engagement can help get it right.
Previous proposals lacked community support and prioritised high-density, high-value housing at the expense of social housing and community infrastructure. Residents wanted regeneration, but they did not support the plans that were being proposed.
The current scheme represents a fundamentally different approach.
Working alongside residents through extensive community co-design, the proposals would deliver:
- 473 additional homes overall.
- Significant levels of social housing.
- A new library.
- A dedicated youth centre.
- A new community centre.
- Improved shopping facilities, including access to affordable food.
- Two GP surgeries with space for preventative healthcare.
- A police hub.
- A family hub and nursery.
- Major public realm improvements.
Most importantly, residents have been very involved in co-designing these proposals and support them. The regeneration ballot held in 2025 produced the largest regeneration ballot result in the country, with 82 per cent of residents voting in favour of the scheme.
The Alton Estate demonstrates the value of regeneration that is shaped with communities, not imposed upon them. However, I am deeply concerned that significant parts of this scheme are now at risk under the current Conservative administration at Wandsworth Council. The London Plan should do more to support resident-led regeneration, giving greater certainty and protection to schemes that have secured a clear democratic mandate from local communities and earned residents’ trust through genuine engagement.
Chapter 4: Growing London’s Economy in a Way that Benefits All
GLE9: Aviation
I strongly support your continued opposition to proposals for a third runway at Heathrow Airport.
The economic, environmental and public health case for expansion has weakened substantially and proposals should only be considered where it can be clearly demonstrated that there would be no unacceptable impacts on local communities, transport networks, air quality or climate objectives.
The economic justification for expansion continues to diminish, while the infrastructure requirements associated with a third runway would place significant additional pressure on London’s transport system and public finances.
Expansion would also undermine hard-won progress on air quality. London has made substantial improvements through measures such as the Ultra Low Emission Zone, but additional aviation activity risks reversing those gains.
Noise pollution remains a major concern for many Londoners. Expansion would expose hundreds of thousands of additional residents to harmful aircraft noise while reducing periods of respite currently available to affected communities.
Most importantly, Heathrow expansion cannot be reconciled with the UK’s climate obligations. Any increase in aviation emissions must be assessed against London’s and the nation’s legally binding commitments to reduce carbon emissions and achieve net zero.
For these reasons, I support maintaining the London Plan’s clear opposition to airport expansion that cannot demonstrate compatibility with environmental, public health and climate objectives.
Chapter 5: Creating a Greener, Healthier and More Resilient City
GHR4: Heat Risk
GHR5: Flood Risk and Drainage
GHR6: Trees, Biodiversity and Geodiversity
I strongly welcome the Plan’s recognition of the climate emergency and the vital role planning policy must play in building a more resilient London.
As Chair of the Environment All-Party Parliamentary Group, I recently led an inquiry into the UK’s preparedness for climate change. We heard evidence from scientists, infrastructure providers, insurers, farmers, businesses and public health experts. The conclusion was clear: the UK remains insufficiently prepared for the increasing risks associated with climate change.
Extreme heat, flooding, drought and biodiversity loss are no longer future threats. They are already affecting communities across London, placing growing pressure on public services, infrastructure and public health.
London is particularly vulnerable to extreme heat due to the urban heat island effect, which can make temperatures in built-up areas significantly higher than in surrounding locations. The next London Plan should therefore be supported by a city-wide Cool Homes Plan, building on the GLA’s existing Cool Spaces initiative. This should include:
- Increased tree planting to provide shade and natural cooling.
- The use of shutters, reflective materials and other cooling measures in new and existing buildings.
- Designing developments to maximise natural ventilation and reduce overheating risk.
Nature recovery must be viewed not simply as environmental policy, but as resilience policy. Healthy peatlands reduce flood risk, urban trees help cool neighbourhoods, restored soils support food security, and wetlands increase resilience to drought and extreme weather.
Protecting and restoring nature is therefore essential to safeguarding public health, strengthening infrastructure resilience and supporting long-term economic prosperity.
The Plan should include ambitious targets for both tree planting and increased tree canopy cover, particularly in areas of high deprivation where residents often experience the greatest exposure to heat and the fewest environmental benefits.
I encourage the Greater London Authority to:
- Work with Government to strengthen planning and building regulations in areas vulnerable to flooding and overheating.
- Require climate resilience measures, including sustainable drainage systems and property-level flood protection.
- Create accessible cool spaces and cooling refuges for residents during periods of extreme heat.
- Strengthen local heat resilience planning through Local Resilience Forums.
- Expand climate-resilient tree planting programmes and ensure funding for long-term maintenance.
- Embed natural infrastructure and biodiversity recovery throughout new development.
GHR10: Air quality
I welcome the continued commitment to improving air quality, reducing Londoners’ exposure to harmful pollution, and working towards meeting the World Health Organization’s air quality guidelines. It is vital that we build on the significant progress already achieved through measures such as Ultra Low Emission Zones.
I am particularly pleased to see the emphasis on identifying and prioritising interventions that can be secured through the planning system to reduce emissions and improve air quality at a neighbourhood level.
I hope this framework can be applied in key areas of my constituency, including Putney High Street, where persistent traffic congestion continues to contribute to poor air quality.
Chapter 6: Place Visions and Place-Based Approaches
PV3: Town Centres and High Streets
I strongly support the Plan’s commitment to sustaining vibrant town centres and high streets.
My constituency includes four distinct high streets in Putney, Roehampton, Southfields and Wandsworth Town. These centres remain critical economic, social and civic assets and deserve a stronger and more explicit place within the London Plan.
Alongside the objective of delivering the homes Londoners need, the Plan should include an ambition to deliver the high streets Londoners want.
Local authorities need stronger powers and greater flexibility to shape the character of their town centres, including the ability to tackle concentrations of gambling premises, reduce persistent vacancies and encourage diverse commercial and community uses.
Many residents have raised concerns about increasing numbers of empty units, the loss of independent businesses and rising incidents of shoplifting, particularly in Putney town centre.
I therefore welcome proposals including rental auctions and local management strategies that can bring empty premises back into productive use and create opportunities for community organisations, cultural groups, start-ups and small businesses.
Revitalised high streets create jobs, support local economies and strengthen community identity.
Access to Healthy Food
One area largely absent from the draft Plan is access to affordable, healthy food. Planning policy should play a much greater role in supporting food security and improving public health outcomes.
Parts of my constituency, particularly Roehampton, have very limited access to fresh, affordable fruit and vegetables. This contributes directly to health inequalities and should be recognised as a planning challenge.
Other global cities are already adopting more interventionist approaches. For example, New York City is establishing a network of municipal grocery stores to improve access to affordable healthy food, including discounted fresh produce and staple goods. London should be similarly ambitious in ensuring that all residents can access affordable, nutritious food close to where they live.
The London Plan should align planning policy with a clear food strategy that:
- Ensures access to affordable fresh food within walking distance of residential communities.
- Supports greengrocers, markets and food retailers providing healthy options.
- Integrates food access into housing and town centre planning.
- Supports climate objectives by promoting local and sustainable food supply chains.
- Uses planning policy to tackle entrenched health inequalities.
Access to healthy food should be recognised as essential infrastructure for thriving neighbourhoods, just as important as transport, healthcare and housing.
Youth Spaces
Finally, I urge the Plan to place greater emphasis on dedicated youth provision. Too often, youth facilities are reduced, removed or treated as optional extras during development processes.
Dedicated youth spaces should be recognised as essential community infrastructure and planned as such from the outset. They provide safe places for young people to develop skills, build relationships and access support, while strengthening community cohesion and improving long-term outcomes.
The successful inclusion of a dedicated youth centre within the Alton Estate regeneration demonstrates the importance of embedding youth provision directly within plans for growth and renewal.
Conclusion
I welcome the overall direction of the Draft London Plan and its ambition to create a greener, fairer and more prosperous city. However, delivering that vision will require stronger action on transport connectivity, affordable housing delivery, climate resilience, thriving high streets, healthy food access and youth provision.
I look forward to continuing to work with you and the Greater London Authority to ensure that Putney, Roehampton, Southfields and Wandsworth Town can fully contribute to and benefit from London’s future growth.
Yours sincerely,
Fleur Anderson
Member of Parliament for Putney, Roehampton, Southfields and Wandsworth Town