Policy information sourced from The London Plan 2021

D8 Public Realm

Development Plans and development proposals should:

  1. encourage and explore opportunities to create new public realm where appropriate
  2. ensure the public realm is well-designed, safe, accessible, inclusive, attractive, well-connected, related to the local and historic context, and easy to understand, service and maintain. Landscape treatment, planting, street furniture and surface materials should be of good quality, fit-for-purpose, durable and sustainable. Lighting, including for advertisements, should be carefully considered and well-designed in order to minimise intrusive lighting infrastructure and reduce light pollution
  3. maximise the contribution that the public realm makes to encourage active travel and ensure its design discourages travel by car and excessive on-street parking, which can obstruct people’s safe enjoyment of the space. This includes design that reduces the impact of traffic noise and encourages appropriate vehicle speeds
  4. be based on an understanding of how the public realm in an area functions and creates a sense of place during different times of the day and night, days of the week and times of the year. In particular, they should demonstrate an understanding of how people use the public realm, and the types, location and relationship between public spaces in an area, identifying where there are deficits for certain activities, or barriers to movement that create severance for pedestrians and cyclists
  5. ensure both the movement function of the public realm and its function as a place are provided for and that the balance of space and time given to each reflects the individual characteristics of the area. The priority modes of travel for the area should be identified and catered for, as appropriate. Desire lines for people walking and cycling should be a particular focus, including the placement of street crossings, which should be regular, convenient and accessible
  6. ensure there is a mutually supportive relationship between the space, surrounding buildings and their uses, so that the public realm enhances the amenity and function of buildings and the design of buildings contributes to a vibrant public realm
  7. ensure buildings are of a design that activates and defines the public realm, and provides natural surveillance. Consideration should also be given to the local microclimate created by buildings, and the impact of service entrances and facades on the public realm
  8. ensure appropriate management and maintenance arrangements are in place for the public realm, which maximise public access and minimise rules governing the space to those required for its safe management in accordance with the Public London Charter
  9. incorporate green infrastructure such as street trees and other vegetation into the public realm to support rainwater management through sustainable drainage, reduce exposure to air pollution, moderate surface and air temperature and increase biodiversity
  10. ensure that appropriate shade, shelter, seating and, where possible, areas of direct sunlight are provided, with other microclimatic considerations, including temperature and wind, taken into account in order to encourage people to spend time in a place
  11. ensure that street clutter, including street furniture that is poorly located, unsightly, in poor condition or without a clear function is removed, to ensure that pedestrian amenity is improved. Consideration should be given to the use, design and location of street furniture so that it complements the use and function of the space. Applications which seek to introduce unnecessary street furniture should be refused
  12. explore opportunities for innovative approaches to improving the public realm such as open street events and Play Streets
  13. create an engaging public realm for people of all ages, with opportunities for social activities, formal and informal play and social interaction during the daytime, evening and at night. This should include identifying opportunities for the meanwhile use of sites in early phases of development to create temporary public realm
  14. ensure that any on-street parking is designed so that it is not dominant or continuous, and that there is space for green infrastructure as well as cycle parking in the carriageway. Parking should not obstruct pedestrian lines
  15. ensure the provision and future management of free drinking water at appropriate locations in the new or redeveloped public realm.

For more information please see The London Plan 2021