Our bold and ambitious Local Plan will strengthen the borough’s position as the place to be and call home, where residents can feel safe and proud while protecting green spaces, our rich heritage and the qualities that make it unique.
Following extensive feedback from residents, businesses and stakeholders, the Council’s draft Plan will help make Royal Greenwich the place to be - setting out how the Council intends to deliver new homes, create jobs, improve neighbourhoods and unlock economic opportunity - all while introducing tougher rules for HMO conversions, which protect family homes and ensure everyone has a decent place to live.
The vision recognises both the opportunities and challenges facing one of London's fastest-growing boroughs. Royal Greenwich is home to world-class heritage, a globally recognised riverside and diverse communities from across the world. At the same time, parts of the borough continue to experience income and health inequalities, housing pressures and transport challenges. The Local Plan provides the framework to address these issues through sustainable growth that benefits existing and future residents alike.
Councillor Anthony Okereke, Leader of the Royal Borough of Greenwich, said:
“At its heart, this Local Plan is about creating a borough where people feel safe, proud and optimistic about the future. We want Royal Greenwich to remain a place where families can put down roots, where communities feel connected, and where residents can see the benefits of growth in their everyday lives.
“Our extensive public consultation on the Council’s most important planning document received hundreds of responses and has helped shape our final blueprint for the borough which we intend to submit to the government’s Planning Inspectorate.
“We will build new homes, create thousands of jobs and unlock economic potential - including along our riverside, while protecting the green spaces, heritage and neighbourhood character that people value most.
“This is our vision for Royal Greenwich to 2040 and beyond: a borough that is ambitious and inclusive, where opportunity is shared, inequalities are reduced and people are proud to call Royal Greenwich home.”
The draft plan also includes much tougher rules on Houses in Multiple Occupation (HMOs). We propose raising the threshold for conversions to 130sqm internal space to protect family homes and the introduction of tighter measures to prevent overconcentration of HMOs across the whole borough.
This is alongside stronger environmental protections and clearer expectations for developers, as well as new site allocations designed to support sustainable growth and investment across the borough with a higher new homes target of almost 50,000.
The revised plan, which is subject to Cabinet approval on Wednesday 24 June and subject to approval at Full Council on Wednesday 22 July, reflects nearly 3,000 comments received from hundreds of residents during consultation on the earlier Regulation 18 draft and demonstrates how the Council has listened to concerns while further committing to the Royal Greenwich 2040 vision. This version of the plan will then be subject to statutory consultation from Monday 27 July.
The updated Plan supports the delivery of nearly 50,000 new homes and thousands of jobs, helping unlock untapped potential along the longest stretch of riverside in London while ensuring development contributes to stronger communities, improved infrastructure and a more resilient local economy.
Alongside these strengthened protections, the updated Plan identifies new opportunities for housing, jobs and regeneration through three additional site allocations – two in Woolwich and one in Greenwich. Together, these sites will support the borough’s increased housing target while helping deliver investment and regeneration in key growth areas.
Councillor Tom Creswell, Cabinet Member for Planning and Development, said: “When asked what this Local Plan means for the hardworking people of our borough, I have one clear answer: new homes, new jobs, new opportunities – the future on our doorstep.
"Central to the Local Plan is a commitment to creating neighbourhoods where people can grow up, build their lives and thrive. Whether you're a young person looking for your first home, a family putting down roots or an older resident looking to stay connected to your community, this Plan is about making Royal Greenwich a great place at every stage of life.
“The updated draft Local Plan demonstrates how the Council has listened to residents, particularly around family housing and HMOs, while ensuring we continue to provide the homes needed to meet local demand and tackle the housing crisis.
“By strengthening protections for family-sized homes, supporting genuinely affordable housing and planning for sustainable growth, we are creating communities where children can grow up safely, families can flourish and people can enjoy a high quality of life close to jobs, services and green spaces.
“Increasing our housing target through additional site allocations will help us meet future needs while ensuring growth contributes to stronger communities, better infrastructure and neighbourhoods that people are proud to be part of.”
What happens next and why this round of consultation is different from before
The production of a Local Plan involves multiple stages – from evidence gathering to public consultation with communities and stakeholders, examination and adoption. Once adopted, it will be used to assess future planning applications across the borough.
The Council ran a first phase of public consultation during August and September 2023. The previous round of consultation – from December 2025 to February 2026 – invited feedback on the proposals within the Regulation 18 Local Plan. That feedback helped inform the Regulation 19 Local Plan, which is the version the Council intends to submit to the government’s Planning Inspectorate for independent examination.
This stage is no longer about shaping the borough’s future, but about ensuring that the final Plan, informed by thousands of comments from residents and stakeholders, is legally compliant and sound before examination.
The statutory consultation on the Regulation 19 draft Local Plan will go live on Monday 27 July 2026 for a period of six weeks.