This week, after a two-year in-person absence, our Building London Summit returned in full, kindly hosted by Linklaters LLP in central London.
The event opened with a speech from our Chief Executive John Dickie, which formally launched the , which will help to determine how London’s built environment should evolve to help people thrive and business succeed. Next up was Housing Minister Stuart Andrew MP, who spoke on the importance of the capital to the UK economy, and the need for innovative solutions to support housing delivery. If you missed it, .
A panel discussion on the changing role of commercial property followed, with Peter Hogg, London City Executive, Arcadis, in the chair. The panellists – Paul O’Grady, Location Director, Belgravia, Grosvenor Property, Sarah Banham, Director of Communities and Sustainability, Battersea Power Station Development Company, Andy Bruce, Global Head of Real Estate, Linklaters, and Elaine Rossall, Head of UK Offices Research, JLL. The view of the panel was that the prime office market will remain strong where it can demonstrate good ESG credentials, and that London remains a hugely investible city. However, they sounded a note of caution, reminding those present that landlords and developers will only thrive if they adapt to changing demands.
Next, Graeme Craig, Director for Commercial Development at TfL Property, shared its plans for the capital’s housing developments, and talked about the scale of housing being built, before championing the opening of the Elizabeth Line later this month, declaring that the capital ​‘will get its mojo back’ when it opens. After a short break, Lyn Garner, Chief Executive, London Legacy Development Corporation and Tim Preston, Partner, Arcadis, discussed the changing face of housing in the capital post-pandemic. Lyn’s message was that people want quality of build and design, but also increased quality of life, and they would rather find that in London than leave.
Jay Ahluwalia, Principal, Dominvs, Eamonn Hughes, CFO, Peabody, and Lesley Roberts, Partner at Allsopp LLP, then debated how to navigate the headwinds in housing delivery. The panel bemoaned skills shortages, and the impact on project timelines and budgets. Planning barriers also all too often overcomplicate housing market supply, and the panel was clear that it needed councils that are ​‘open for business’, and that policy should be doing all it can to support that.
A quick pitch session followed with Craig Tabb, Board Director, DP9 arguing for retaining existing planning rules and Meeta Kaur, Partner, Town Legal, arguing for reform. Both agreed that any new process must be simple. They were then joined on the panel by Mike Kiely, Chair, Planning Officers Society and Gordon Adams, Head of Planning and Public Affairs, Battersea Power Station Development Company, to dig into what London needs from reform.
The penultimate session looked at the built environment’s new Green Skills requirements, with Paul Stephen, Principal and Chief Executive, Newham College London, Rebecca Burns, Senior Community Affairs Executive, British Land, Sheila Weeden, Head of Policy and Programmes, Local London, and Paolo Nistri, Head of Inclusive Growth, Skills and Social Value, London Legacy Development Corporation. The discussion centred on the importance of collaboration between educational institutions, businesses, partners and government, to reach scale and unlock investment opportunities. Sheila has kindly provided her slide presentation, .
To close, John returned to the stage for an in-conversation session with Jules Pipe CBE, Deputy Mayor of London for Planning, Regeneration, and Skills. Jules focused on the need to level up parts of the capital, where 4 in 10 households are in poverty. For London, it’s about competing for infrastructure rather than competing for growth. We finished the day with a big thank you to all our speakers for their time and insights, which we’d like to echo today, and to our sponsors, Arcadis, London Legacy Development Corporation, TfL Property and Newham College, and to Linklaters for hosting. You can find more about what’s next in our .