Opportunity Area Planning Framework (OAPF)

The Greater London Authority (GLA) support the compiling of Opportunity Area Planning Frameworks (OAPFs), which are documents used to specify how an ‘opportunity area’ can be developed.

Opportunity areas are defined in the London Plan as brownfield land that has ‘…significant capacity to accommodate new housing, commercial and other development linked to existing or potential improvements to public transport accessibility’. Opportunity areas can typically accommodate at least 5,000 jobs or 2,500 new homes, or a combination of the two.

The purpose of OAPFs is to consider how the key development sites fit within a policy context and to provide a strategic and design-led approach to spatial planning. They also seek to identify and resolve policy and cross-borough issues that may prove contentious during the early stages of the planning process. They provide certainty to the development process and for investment, and build consensus between public and private stakeholders.

OAPFs tend to focus on implementation and aim to provide both developers and local communities with a development timeframe, rooting the project within an agreed strategy.

OAPFs identify opportunities and challenges that the development should aim to resolve, which may include:

• Land use.
• Infrastructure provision.
• Spatial integration and planning strategies.
• Public realm guidelines.
• Energy requirements.
• Regeneration.
• Land assembly.
• Phasing.
• Tall building strategy.

[edit] Find out more

[edit] Related articles on Designing Buildings Wiki

• City Hall, London.
• Community plan.
• Development plan.
• GLA Housing Design SPG.
• Laying the foundations: a housing strategy for England.
• Local development scheme.
• London infrastructure plan.
• London Land Commission.
• London View Management Framework.
• Planning permission.
• Regional spatial strategy.
• Supplementary planning documents.
• The London Plan.

[edit] External resources

London.gov.uk - What are opportunity areas?