Khan's Streamlined Draft London Plan Targets 558,000 Homes by 2037, With a Limited Green Belt Release That Croydon Vows to Oppose

London's planning framework is being rewritten. On 16 July 2026 the Mayor of London published a new draft London Plan, a substantially slimmed down document that sets a headline ambition of up to 558,000 new homes by 2037 while acknowledging the acute pressures facing housebuilding in the capital. Within days the strategy had drawn its first significant challenge, as Croydon Council announced it would formally oppose proposals to build on parts of the borough's green belt. For investors and developers, the plan signals both a more pragmatic approach to viability and a set of political flashpoints that will shape delivery for years. ## A shorter plan with a lower headline number

The new draft is a deliberate break from the density of its predecessor. The mayor's office says the document has been streamlined to ease the burden on developers while retaining quality standards, and it is markedly shorter than the version it replaces.

The headline target reflects a more cautious assessment of what the capital can realistically deliver. City Hall has framed the figure as credible rather than aspirational, citing high interest rates, elevated construction costs and wider economic headwinds.

• • Up to 558,000 homes by 2037, averaging around 55,800 a year
• • A document nearly half the length of the 2021 plan
• • A 13-week consultation running from 16 July to 15 October 2026

The draft London Plan identifies how London could deliver as many as 558,000 homes by 2037.

Mayor of London (London City Hall), 2026

Green belt: brownfield first, but not brownfield only

The plan keeps brownfield land as the priority for development, but concludes that brownfield alone cannot meet London's longer-term housing needs. It therefore proposes a limited, selective release of green belt land in locations best connected by public transport.

That release is where the politics sharpens. Croydon has been allocated a target that includes thousands of homes on green belt land, and the borough's mayor has made clear it will resist those proposals through the consultation.

Tiered affordability and the viability question

One of the most consequential changes for developers is a new, tiered system of affordability thresholds that governs eligibility for the Fast-Track planning route. The plan moves that threshold back towards 35% for many boroughs from 2028, with varying levels elsewhere, while retaining the mayor's strategic aim of 50% affordable housing overall.

Housing associations and housebuilders have broadly welcomed the emphasis on viability, though industry bodies note the target still falls well short of central government's assessment of London's need, underlining how far delivery must rise from recent levels.

The consultation now runs until 15 October 2026, after which the plan faces an independent Examination in Public before adoption expected in early 2028. Between now and then, the tension between borough-level opposition and citywide housing need, most visibly around the green belt, will define how much of this ambition translates into homes. Silkwood will continue to track the plan's progress and its implications for London's development pipeline.

Sources

• • London City Hall: Mayor publishes streamlined draft London Plan
• • Housing Today: Khan reveals tiered affordability thresholds and 558,000-home target in draft London Plan
• • HBF response: Announcement of the draft London Plan