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London, for decades a symbol of density and heritage, is now loosening planning constraints to counter a steep drop in housing construction. The government is reportedly negotiating with the Mayor’s office to ease requirements for “dual-aspect” homes (those with windows on two sides) and bike storage rules. At the same time, it’s considering slashing the share of required affordable housing on private development parcels, from 35 % down to somewhere between 15–20 %.
The stakes are high: new housing starts in early 2025 sank to just over 2,000 units far short of the ~88,000 per year London needs. The proposed emergency planning measures may last up to three years.
On one hand, loosening rules could lower costs, reduce friction in approvals, and prompt more residential development especially in a market starved for supply. On the other, critics warn that relaxing design standards risks eroding quality, exacerbating inequality, and degrading the environment. Taking away stringent requirements often impacts light, ventilation, access to amenity, and open space quality.
To its credit, officials seem aware of the danger. Some of the relaxed rules are proposed explicitly as temporary, and internal debates are already focused on trade-offs: can you deliver more homes without losing the character or liveability that makes London so desirable?
This shift is a cautionary mirror. The desire to “unlock housing” is understandable but it tests how much a city is willing to compromise on design, equity, and public good.
If you scale back requirements for affordable housing, you’re not just saving developers money, you’re shifting who lives in the city, and under what conditions. If you remove dual aspect mandates, you might build more units, but what does the daylight and fresh air cost?
Ultimately, this move suggests that when cities hit a wall, the first impulse is to loosen instead of rethink. But what if the real fix is better enforcement, design excellence, and stronger infrastructure not weaker rules?
If London’s experiment succeeds, it may become a template for other global cities facing housing emergencies. But success won’t be about how many homes are built, it will be about which homes, for whom, and at what life quality.