Thank you to all our members and guests who attended last week’s WPA Annual Lunch. Our keynote speaker Clive Myrie delivered an insightful address on the central role of the economy in electoral success in the USA and other major democracies, including the UK.

The theme of the event was ‘Good Growth’ and the role of the economy in supporting positive social and environmental outcomes was reflected in our opening video here. You can also read WPA Chair Marcus Geddes’s speech and view photos from the evening further below.

Planning policy underpins that growth, so it was encouraging to see the recently published modifications to Westminster City Council’s Partial Review of the City Plan include significant changes to embodied carbon targets, better reflecting the actualities of development as set out in the detailed evidence WPA submitted in response.

We are expecting the City Council to submit the Partial Review to the Secretary of State by 25 November. An Inspector should be appointed in December with the Examination in Public taking place from March 2025. You can see all documents linking to the Draft City Plan Partial Review on our website here, where we will also post future updates.

If you have any comments for inclusion or would like further information on the Partial Review, please do get in touch with andrea.williams@cwpa.org.uk.    

In the meantime, I look forward to seeing many of you next week at our evening reception at Hines’ Grainhouse, a prime example of what can be achieved when heritage and sustainability are successfully balanced.

Charles Begley,

WPA Chief Executive 

Events

Our final WPA event of the year will celebrate the retrofitting of our built environment as the industry seeks to urgently upgrade and decarbonise its buildings to meet Westminster’s net zero city target by 2040.

Cllr Matt Noble, Westminster City Council's Cabinet Member for Regeneration and Renters will be delivering the keynote for this event, speaking alongside Robbie Pitman (Managing Director – Development, Hines UK), who will provide an overview of the transformation of Hines UK’s headquarters, the Grainhouse – our venue for the evening and winner of NLA Awards' Best Mixed Use Development, announced today.

Date: Wednesday 27 November

Time: 6:00pm – 8:00pm

Venue: Grainhouse, 6 Dryden Street, WC2E 9NH

Thank you to over 1,100 of our guests and members for attending our 36th WPA Annual Lunch.

Our keynote speaker, Clive Myrie, spoke about his time as a foreign correspondent, including reporting on both the US presidential election and the Russian invasion of Ukraine.

WPA Chair, Marcus Geddes (Managing Director, Workplace, Landsec) highlighted the importance of economic growth in delivering social prosperity in Westminster. You can read his full speech here. The lunch ended with a vote of thanks from Helen Mann, Chief Executive, Young Westminster Foundation, who thanked WPA for its support of the charity’s Mastering My Future programme.

You can see photos and read more about this year’s lunch here.

Last month we held a reception celebrating the power of partnerships between the public and private sectors, kindly hosted by the Lord Mayor of Westminster, Cllr Robert Rigby.

WPA Vice Chair James Raynor (Chief Executive, Grosvenor Property UK), Helen Mann (Chief Executive, Young Westminster Foundation) and Carl Konadu BEM (CEO and Co-founder, 2-3 Degrees) reflected on the success of the Mastering My Future programme, which one year on has:

📢 Reached 90 new participants, with a further 838 young people having been engaged with the programme.
🏢 Provided 17 young people with work experience opportunities.
💡 Delivered 56 hours of career training and mentoring.

To find out how your company can get involved and support Westminster's young talent in the property sector, email Oyin Olaoshun at oyin@2-3degrees.com.  

Westminster City Council updates

Infrastructure consultation launched

The City Council is consulting on a new Infrastructure Delivery Plan which will identify future requirements and set out a strategic vision for growth over the coming decades. You can respond to the consultation by 17 January here.

WPA responds to draft Public Realm Guidance SPD

WPA has emphasised its support of the sustainable objectives of the proposed guidance, whilst stressing the need to ensure that visual appearance and quality of future public realm remains a priority. Read our full response here.

City Council restructures its planning committees

Westminster's planning committees have been restructured into a Strategic Planning Committee, chaired by Cllr Jason Williams, and two sub-committees, chaired by Cllrs Ruth Bush and Paul Fisher. Read more about the restructure here.

Selective licensing consultation opens

The City Council is proposing a selective licensing scheme for private landlords in 15 of the borough’s wards. Respond to the consultation by 19 January here.

Other news

Former Westminster MP appointed as OPDC Chair

Dame Karen Buck, former Labour MP for Westminster North, is to be appointed as the new chair of Old Oak and Park Royal Development Corporation (OPDC), replacing Liz Peace. Buck, who currently co-chairs the North Paddington Delivery Board, would oversee the creation of a new Canalside district for London around the HS2 and Elizabeth Line station. Read more here 

Edgware Road placemaking strategy unveiled

Marble Arch London BID, The Portman Estate and The Church Commissioners have published their long-term vision for public realm improvements along Edgware Road to help revitalise one of London’s most iconic districts. Read more here.

Soho hopes for Oxford Street link dashed 

The Mayor’s deputy chief of staff Richard Watts has ruled out including Soho or licensing powers in the proposed Oxford Street Mayoral Development Corporation during questions at the London Assembly this week, as reported by OnLondon here. Meanwhile, Seb Dance, Deputy Mayor for Transport, has expressed a keen interest in modelling plans to pedestrianise Oxford Street on Barcelona’s major high-street, La Rambla, read here

Westminster Abbey, the Lyceum Theatre and the COLAB are amongst the 82 Westminster-based businesses committed to driving down emissions from non-domestic buildings.

As a testament to the continued success of the Sustainable City Charter (SCC), early signatories have reported a significant 19% decrease in energy usage in the Charter’s first year. This has resulted in the saving of 4,162 tonnes of carbon overall, equivalent to emissions generated by more than 10 million 5km passenger journeys on a London Bus. Read more in EG here.

To get involved with the Charter, email the Climate Emergency team here.

To find out how you can get involved in the free Sustainable City Charter to deliver a cleaner and greener Westminster read more here.

Partner events

Business rates workshop

Westminster City Council is hosting a hybrid workshop on business rates, led by Steve Hile, Partner, Gerald Eve. The event will provide key insights needed to navigate the upcoming changes to business rates and their anticipated impact on small businesses.

Date: Wednesday 27 November

Time: 5:30pm – 6:30pm

Venue: Remote or Victoria Library, 160 Buckingham Palace Road, SW1W 9TR

Women Leading Real Estate

Hear from the women leading London’s real estate sector about the future of the market and how they’re pushing boundaries. A keynote speech will be delivered by Isabelle Scemama, Global Head, AXA IM Alts. As a supporting partner we are able to offer WPA members an exclusive discount using the code: LPAWLRE

Date: Thursday 28 November

Time: 8:00am – 1:00pm

Venue: Hilton London Metropole, 225 Edgware Road, W2 1JU 

ICYMI

• World Toilet Day: £12.7million investment in West End toilets
• Oxford Street: Westminster amenity groups and local Tories criticise pedestrianisation plan
• London becomes first city in the world with 1000 sustainable B Corp companies
• Closure of the Office for Place
• UK’s largest heat network planned to warm central London buildings (£)

Member resources

Both WPA and CPA members have access to our comprehensive database of all major decisions from central London's major planning committees. These can be viewed on our Planning News page, compiled in partnership with Concilio.

Access our research here.

Access our Diversity Guidebooks here.

For more details on all of the property news stories in the central London boroughs over the last seven days please visit the news section of the London Planning website.