Location

The adopted London Plan focuses on promoting strategically important serviced accommodation in Opportunity Areas within the Central Activities Zone (CAZ), and smaller-scale accommodation elsewhere in the CAZ, excluding predominantly residential areas. This is subject to the impact on office space and other strategic functions.

Outside the CAZ, including outer London, the policy focuses on promoting serviced accommodation in town centres and Opportunity Areas that are well-connected by public transport, particularly to central London.

The emerging London Plan suggests extending this support much more widely across the CAZ, in town centres and high streets and more broadly in other locations with good public transport accessibility. This will likely broaden the scope for hotel development opportunities both within and beyond the CAZ.

To align with planning policy and unlock these opportunities, it is important to consider:

• Local and strategic demand for hotels in the area;
• The impact on surrounding land uses and amenity; and
• The effects on other strategic functions in the CAZ.

Hotels also often contribute positively to the local economy - through job creation and additional local expenditure, for example - and this public benefit can be evidenced to the Council through the planning process.

Accessibility provision 

Adopted London Plan Policy E10 sets out that development proposals for serviced accommodation should provide either: 

• 10% of new bedrooms as wheelchair-accessible; or 
• 15% of new bedrooms as accessible bedrooms.

This would be in line with the relevant Building Standards set out in policy. 

The Council will use this as the starting point to ensure the accommodation can meet the needs of those requiring accessible rooms.

Car Parking provision

Adopted London Plan Policy T6 seeks to restrict car parking in line with levels of existing and future public transport accessibility. Car-free development should be the starting point for all development proposals in places that are (or are planned to be) well-connected by public transport.

This is an important aspiration for sustainable development, but it can present operational challenges for hotels, particularly where Councils seek to reduce the existing parking provision. This issue requires careful consideration through the application process to balance operational needs with sustainable development objectives.

Urban Greening and Biodiversity Net Gain

Biodiversity Net Gain (BNG) is now a mandatory requirement for most development proposals (subject to some exemptions), and developers are required to deliver a 10% uplift in biodiversity value from the baseline.

In addition, for major developments in London, Policy G5 sets out that predominantly commercial development (such as hotels) should aim for an Urban Greening Factor (‘UGF’) score of 0.3, which is calculated using the factors given to various surface cover types.

Existing hotel sites in London can often be spatially constrained. The BNG and UGF strategies therefore need to be tailored to each site and often require innovative solutions that optimise on-site opportunities, for example, through integrated landscape planters or green biodiverse roofs.

Future

In line with the London Growth Plan, the next 10-years should see efforts to expand London’s experience economy, which will likely require supporting visitor accommodation. Within this context, and with emerging policy suggesting greater support and flexibility for purpose-built visitor accommodation, new development opportunities could be unlocked both within and beyond the CAZ.

Further information

Contact Ellie Cannon