‘In 2008, the world reaches an invisible but momentous milestone: For the first time in history, more than half its human population, 3.3 billion people, will be living in urban areas. By 2030, this is expected to swell to almost 5 billion.’

(State of World Population 2007, United Nations Population Fund)

Global cities are grappling with a new set of challenges

How do cities meet the needs of a growing population, promote diverse and healthy communities, improve the environment and tackle climate change? It’s a tall order and one that London is tackling head on with their aptly named “London Plan”. The ambitious plan sets out the overall strategic direction for an integrated economic, environmental, transport and social framework for the development of London over the next 20-25 years.

The London Plan contributes to sustainable development by taking account of city wide planning for the long term. The plan includes three traditional sustainability cross-cutting themes:

• Economic development and wealth creation 
• Social development 
• Improvement of the environment

The London Plan sets out to:

• Meet the needs of a growing population with policy on affordable housing, sustainable design, and social infrastructure to promote a diverse, happy and safe urban community. 
• Support an increase in London’s development and employment with policy on: outer London, inner and central London, finding the best locations for development and regeneration, encouraging a connected economy and improving job opportunities. 
• Improve the environment and tackle climate change by reducing CO2 emissions and heat loss from new developments, increasing renewable energy, managing flood risk, ensuring water supply and quality, improving sewerage systems, recycling performance and waste management and protecting open spaces. 
• Ensure that London’s transport is easy, safe and convenient and encourage cycling, walking and electric vehicles.

Urban regeneration

The London Plan identifies what are termed “Opportunity Areas” in and around London’s major reservoirs of brown-field land. These areas are characterised by their potential to accommodate new housing, commercial and other development linked to existing or potential improvements to public transport accessibility.

Whilst many are well-connected in a transport sense, it is important to ensure that they can be developed without undue additional pressure on London’s already-crowded public transport, or on the limited funds available for anything beyond committed transport improvements.

Vauxhall, Nine Elms and Battersea

Vauxhall Nine Elms Battersea (VNEB) is one of the largest Opportunity Areas, forming part of the Central Activities Zone (CAZ) in central London. Located in the boroughs of Lambeth and Wandsworth, the area presents a unique set of challenges and opportunities. A key feature is the iconic Battersea Power Station, for which redevelopment plans have been on and off the drawing board for many years.

One of the last remaining major development areas in central London, it is anticipated that up to 16,000 new homes and 25,000 new jobs could be established in the VNEB area.

Wandsworth

The London Borough of Wandsworth’s core strategy is set within the context of the London Plan and is an integral element of the Council’s Sustainable Community Strategy.

Strategic objectives outline a particular emphasis on embracing the principles of sustainable development in the effective use of brown-field land, providing for a wide range of facilities such as shopping, education, health, leisure and recreation as well as employment opportunities to minimise the need for travel. Their intent is to promote public transport, walking, cycling in preference to car use, so that development is accessible by sustainable modes of transport. Energy conservation objectives will also be a focus.

Lambeth

With an emphasis on the area around Vauxhall the London Borough of Lambeth has also set out its vision. The priorities are summarised below:

1. Managing Development Opportunities – responding to the London Plan development targets and commercial development demand through defining a hierarchy of development and appropriate infrastructure step change. 
2. Character, Identity and Sense of Place – ensure that new development fosters a strong identity and sense of place, building upon and protecting the existing character and historical environment. 
3. Diverse Mixture of Uses – deliver an appropriate, sustainable and varied mixture of uses to support the community, encourage vibrancy and establish character reflective of local needs. 
4. Access, Connections and Legibility – develop legible and accessible environment that overcomes the existing physical barriers of railway viaduct and highways to secure integrated communities.
5. Public Realm, Streets and Spaces – provide an accessible public realm, streets and public spaces that are active, safe and form the heart of the community. 
6. Sustainable Development – deliver development that provides economic, environmental and social benefits today and for the future.
   
   Vauxhall Area Draft Supplementary Planning Document, London Borough of Lambeth, June 2008

Supporting infrastructure: Transport

However, to achieve transformation on this scale a major barrier needs to be addressed, namely the relatively poor level of public transport access to the area, especially Battersea Power Station. This needs to be completed without adding to the already congested situation on public transport and roads around Vauxhall, since this is a strategic interchange and junction for movement of all types.

In an attempt to address barriers to a successful transformation, Transport for London commissioned an in-depth strategic transport study to examine and assess five development scenarios for the area. Carried out in line with the Department for Transport’s Transport Analysis Guidance, the study has become a benchmark for transport planning for future Opportunity Areas.

A key feature of the study included broad policy directions that outlined the requirement for “... good public transport coupled with strong traffic management, easier pedestrian movement, major environmental improvement and scope for intensification should increase housing and commercial capacity ...”

Most importantly the planning context is set firmly in the London Plan providing an integrated framework emphasising the importance of relating transport provision to spatial development: “Spatial policies cannot be considered in isolation from their links to existing and proposed transport accessibility and capacity.”

Other features included:

• Two specific objectives: To mitigate adverse environmental impacts caused by development traffic and to ensure the area’s economic potential is realised by improving accessibility to the development sites by walking, cycling, public transport, and taxi and goods vehicles.
• Stakeholder groups were identified early in the process and a consultation strategy prepared at the outset to consult on outputs and provide regular progress reports.
• Transport modelling was undertaken using the London Transportation Studies, Railplan and Saturn models.

Understanding the link between public transport accessibility and development density

Specifically the Vauxhall Nine Elms Battersea experience illustrates the key characteristics of complex urban regeneration in a global city: in particular the requirement to underpin the local opportunity within a wider policy context, in this case the London Plan and an area specific framework.

In broader terms there is a significant long-term opportunity to be realised through an integrated policy framework covering public transport infrastructure. Put another way, real progress cannot be realised if transport integration and land use planning are not joined. Encouragingly, the rigour being applied to transport studies for Vauxhall Nine Elms Battersea development will also be applied to future developments.

The redevelopment opportunities presented by inner-city areas are real. However they are also problematic due to a range of factors, including the ability to get effective transport connections into often comprehensive but also very crowded transport systems.

The London Plan and the Vauxhall Nine Elms Battersea Opportunity Area Planning Framework include measures to ensure that this can be achieved. Building on the success of redevelopment in London’s Docklands over recent decades, the plans recognise that transport investment is a vital key. They also recognise that, in the current economic climate, any improvements must be funded by the developments themselves, whilst also delivering real improvements and sustainable development objectives.  

	The London experience is noteworthy because many of the challenges being faced are common to other cities around the world. General principles worth noting include: When promoting regeneration ensure the scale of the development is related to environmental capacity and the capacity of public transport and other infrastructure.  Look to encourage a sustainable relationship between development and transport through land use policies that seek to reduce the need to travel, especially by car.  Development proposals should contribute to a safe and accessible, integrated transport system.  While the core strategy will address the need for planning policy to respond to local needs always consider links with the overall transport system and in particular any schemes that improve accessibility to and from adjoining areas.  Proposals should focus on improved facilities that encourage greater use of public transport, cycling and walking.  Align local considerations and policy decisions to an overall context for example the London Plan.

About SKM

SKM’s role and transport study experience

SKM was commissioned by Transport for London to undertake the strategic transport study to establish the transport initiatives required to support various levels of regeneration and redevelopment in the Vauxhall Nine Elms Battersea area. The report concluded that for large scale development the proposed Northern Line extension from Kennington to Battersea Power Station with an intermediate stop in the Nine Elms area was a viable option and this scheme has subsequently been included in the Mayor of London’s draft Transport Strategy, subject to funding.

The study included development and validation of strategic transport models which were used to assess the impact of various development scenarios and associated transport improvements. Conclusions were drawn as to the most appropriate level of transport improvement required to support each development scenario.

The study results have been used as an input to the Greater London Authority’s Vauxhall Nine Elms Battersea Opportunity Area Planning Framework Consultation Draft (November 2009) and set the basis for future discussions about the preferred transport initiatives, investment levels and developer contributions required. SKM continues to advise the stakeholders as work progresses on the Northern Line Extension and other key initiatives.

In November 2009 the London Borough of Wandsworth registered a new planning application (the largest ever to be submitted in central London) for a proposed £5.5 billion mixed-use redevelopment of the 16 hectare Battersea Power Station site.

Recently it has been announced that the new US Embassy will be located at the centre of the Opportunity Area. The new embassy, within an urban park landscape, will be a strong incentive for further regeneration of the area.

Acknowledgements: SKM thanks Transport for London for their support and contribution to this article. 

© Sinclair Knight Merz
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