Barnet Council's Cabinet has approved its response to the Draft London Plan, challenging the proposed housing targets and raising concerns about the reliance on Green Belt release and infrastructure capacity.
The council's response, developed through a cross-party working group, argues that Barnet's proposed housing target of 32,849 homes is the highest in London and relies heavily on Green Belt release, which it claims is not sufficiently evidenced for deliverability.
Councillor Ross Houston, Deputy Leader and Cabinet Member for Homes and Regeneration, highlighted that the housing target represents an increase of approximately 39% compared to the current London Plan target. He expressed concerns about the reliance on Green Belt release for around 7,000 homes, stating that this is not sufficiently evidenced for deliverability. Barnet Council points to the Mill Hill-Barnet Broad Location for Growth, where parts of the identified area coincide with Green Belt land that performs strongly against Green Belt purposes according to local evidence. Furthermore, research indicates substantial lead-in periods for large-scale housing sites, with first completions occurring after an average of 3.8 years for smaller sites and five years for detailed planning permission on sites over 1,000 dwellings, not including additional lead-in periods for Green Belt review, local plan preparation, site allocation, masterplanning, and landowner engagement. The Council also notes that build-out rates on large-scale sites are influenced by infrastructure provision, market demand, absorption rates, viability, and wider development constraints. They are concerned that the proposed housing target is not supported by sufficiently robust evidence demonstrating how the level of growth can be delivered within the plan period.
Concerns were also raised about the shift from Transport for London's (TfL) Public Transport Accessibility Level (PTAL) to the Sustainable Access Measure (SAM). Councillor Houston argued that SAM could lead to increased development expectations in areas with limited orbital connectivity. Barnet Council's analysis shows that under SAM, approximately 62% of the borough falls within SAM classifications 4 and 5A, including 49% within SAM 4 alone. This is a significant increase compared to PTAL, where only about 36% of assessed land falls within PTAL categories 3-6A. The Council is concerned that SAM does not sufficiently demonstrate why locations previously outside established good accessibility thresholds should now be subject to optimization assumptions linked to SAM 4 classifications. They argue that accessibility alone does not determine development capacity and that areas with similar SAM classifications can have different characteristics regarding transport networks, infrastructure capacity, environmental constraints, and local character. The Council requests further evidence on the relationship between SAM classifications and optimization assumptions, especially for Outer London boroughs, and greater clarity on how local evidence can refine these assumptions.
The response welcomes the London Plan's focus on environmental enhancement and green infrastructure, including the emerging Barnet Regional Park aspiration. Barnet Council considers this aspiration a significant opportunity that aligns with the objectives of Policies PV7, GHR6, GHR7, and GHR8 of the Draft London Plan. They believe it can strengthen connections between existing parks, open spaces, Green Belt land, biodiversity assets, and communities, and has the potential to support wider objectives related to health, climate adaptation, and nature recovery. The Council sees it as a tool that, if well-executed, can prioritize the preservation and public access to parts of their Green Belt.
However, the council also stressed the need for greater certainty regarding infrastructure funding, delivery, and phasing, particularly for transport, utilities, and social infrastructure, to support the proposed scale of growth. The Council fears that without adequate infrastructure provision and realistic delivery assumptions, housing and employment delivery targets may not be achieved within the plan period.
The Cabinet discussed the council's response to the Draft London Plan consultation and delegated authority to the Executive Director of Growth, in consultation with the Cabinet Member for Housing and Regeneration, to finalise the council's response. This response was to be submitted by the consultation deadline of either October 15, 2026, or an extended deadline of October 23, 2026. The Council's response was approved by Cabinet on October 12, 2026, and authority was delegated to finalize the response, including any minor factual, typographical, or non-material amendments, prior to submission.
