Six London housing hotspots identified

Harrow, Hounslow, Romford, Wood Green, Bromley and Sutton offer significant opportunities for increased density and the supply of new homes outside of London’s central core – according to planning experts at Barton Willmore.

Their conclusions are based on the consultancy’s review of the opportunities afforded by London’s secondary and tertiary centres to meet the capital’s pressing housing need. 

“Retail centres typically have fewer land owners and therefore offer a greater opportunity for land assembly and there may well be opportunities to consolidate and strengthen the retail function of the centre while also releasing land for housing – specifically where this coincides with high accessibility and existing low household density.” - Iain Painting

By mapping Public Transport Accessibility Level (PTAL) ratings and household density, Barton Willmore’s team has identified opportunities to increase density in relation to public transport accessibility. 

This reveals that centres with comparatively lower household density relative to PTAL have the greatest potential for physical change – and identifies Harrow, Hounslow and Romford as presenting such opportunities. 

Barton Willmore’s expert team also tested the impact of future committed and proposed public transport initiatives (Crossrail 1, Crossrail 2 and Thameslink) to identify the additional housing ‘hotspots’ of Wood Green, Bromley and Sutton. 

Iain Painting, London Planning partner at Barton Willmore, said: “Based on the experience of our planning and design team, which is working across the capital and on some of its the largest regeneration and expansion projects, we believe that London will only get close to meeting its 49,000 new homes per year target through a wider range of initiatives.

“Therefore we undertook this study to support our belief that the role of existing suburban centres, which were originally conceived as a focus of activity and density, should be re-examined – especially in light of the changing face of retail.

“Retail centres typically have fewer land owners and therefore offer a greater opportunity for land assembly and there may well be opportunities to consolidate and strengthen the retail function of the centre while also releasing land for housing – specifically where this coincides with high accessibility and existing low household density.”