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Think Tanks Outline Major London Housing Plan for Opposition Parties

A joint report by the Centre for Policy Studies and Onward has proposed a series of measures to address London’s housing crisis, identifying potential for up to 1.85 million additional homes across the capital. The report, titled ‘Fixing London Housing’, was published on 2 July 2026 and is positioned as a blueprint for potential future Conservative or Reform UK administrations.

The report argues that London has the legislative tools needed to increase housing delivery but lacks the political commitment to implement them. It identifies five categories of development opportunity, including the creation of two new Development Corporations in Southern Tower Hamlets and the Old Kent Road Bakerloo line extension corridor. The report also recommends expanding the powers of the existing Old Oak and Park Royal Development Corporation.

Estate regeneration is highlighted as the largest single opportunity, with the report claiming that doubling density on post-war estates could deliver 500,000 additional homes. The authors also identify 2,293 hectares of Strategic Industrial Land near public transport stations that could be released for housing.

Other proposals include establishing five-year asset management pipelines for public land, introducing a presumption in favour of brownfield development in the London Plan, removing Biodiversity Net Gain requirements for brownfield sites, raising environmental impact assessment thresholds, and extending full expensing to cover brownfield regeneration.

The report states that housing starts in London have fallen to their lowest level since the Second World War. It claims that London requires 1.85 million additional homes to meet demand, representing the country’s largest housing shortage. Additional recommendations include expanding homeowners’ rights to develop their properties and changes to social housing stock management, aiming to remove planning and regulatory restrictions under both the London Plan and national policy.

The report’s publication comes amid ongoing concerns about housing affordability in London. The authors position their recommendations as a response to what they describe as planning and regulatory barriers, and suggest that implementation would depend on the political priorities of future administrations at both the mayoral and national government level.