Social infrastructure supplementary planning guidance

The London Plan is a statutory strategy prepared by the Mayor of London and published by the Greater London Authority. It is a spatial development strategy setting out an economic, environmental, transport and social framework for the development of London.

It is accompanied by Supplementary Planning Guidance (SPG) which provides additional details on policies set out in the London Plan. Supplementary Planning Guidance is provided where the level of guidance required is too detailed for inclusion in the development plan, or if a rapid policy response to is needed to an emerging issue. It provides support for statutory development plans, but carries less weight than them when planning matters are considered and cannot create new policies.

On 15 May 2015, the Mayor published Social Infrastructure, Supplementary Planning Guidance.

Social infrastructure includes services and facilities that contribute to quality of life, such as; health, education, recreation and sports facilities, community and faith facilities, emergency facilities and so on.

The SPG focuses on elements of social infrastructure facing strategic challenges, specifically; health, education, sport, faith and burials.

In the introduction to the SPG, Mayor of London Boris Johnson suggests that, “The purpose of this Supplementary Planning Guidance (SPG) is to help anyone engaged in development or plan-making to understand the quantity and types of social infrastructure needed to support growth. Against a changing background of provision in our public services it provides sensible guidance that will help

planners and non-planners to work together. This SPG sets out realistic steps to promote the delivery of infrastructure that is well-phased and located to meet identified need. One way of achieving this is through colocation of social infrastructure facilities with each other and with housing development so

that we can help to meet both housing and social infrastructure needs at the same time.”

The SPG is aimed at:

• Borough planners and public health practitioners.
• Developers and their consultants.
• Community groups and Neighbourhood Forums.
• Local authority Directors of Public Health.

The SPG:

• Identifies information sources that can be used to evaluate the need for social infrastructure at the strategic planning level.
• Emphasises the need for planning across services to ensure the efficient and timely delivery of social infrastructure.
• Provides advice on planning for Lifetime Neighbourhoods.
• Describes Department of Health models for service delivery that allow planners and health professionals to communicate with each other.
• Sets targets for the provision of burial space.
• Identifies resources for the assessment of social infrastructure need arising from individual applications.

[edit] Find out more

[edit] Related articles on Designing Buildings Wiki

• Accessible London.
• Draft London Housing Strategy (blog November 2013).
• GLA Housing Design SPG.
• Local plan.
• London infrastructure plan.
• London Land Commission.
• London Plan.
• London View Management Framework.
• Neighbourhood plan.
• Regional spatial strategy.
• Supplementary Planning Guidance SPG.