Policy information sourced from the Westminster City Plan

1. Westminster’s spatial strategy

A: Westminster will continue to grow, thrive and inspire at the heart of London as a World City by:

  • Supporting intensification and optimising densities in high quality new developments that integrate with their surroundings and make the most efficient use of land, including through developments that showcases the best of modern architecture.
  • Delivering at least 20,685 homes, of which at least 35% will be affordable.
  • Supporting the growth, modernisation and adaptation of a variety of business space to provide at least 63,000 new office-based jobs alongside other forms of commercial growth.
  • Balancing the competing functions of the Central Activities Zone (CAZ) as a retail and leisure destination, visitor attraction, global office centre, and home to residential neighbourhoods.
  • Protecting and enhancing uses of international and/or national importance, the buildings that accommodate them, and the specialist clusters of uses within the city’s most distinct places.
  • Supporting town centres and high streets, including centres of international importance in the West End and Knightsbridge, to evolve as multifunctional commercial areas to shop, work, and socialise.
  • Protecting and enhancing the city’s unrivalled heritage assets (including their settings), and townscape value.
  • Adapting to and mitigating the effects of climate change, and securing enhancements to the natural environment and public realm, including supporting the delivery of a new North Bank river front destination.
  • Prioritising sustainable travel.
  • Ensuring sufficient supporting infrastructure is delivered to facilitate growth.

B: Growth will primarily be delivered through the:

  • intensification of the CAZ, the West End, and our town centre hierarchy with commercial-led and mixed-use development to provide significant growth in office, retail, and leisure floorspace, alongside new homes;
  • continued major mixed-use redevelopment in identified Opportunity Areas to at least achieve London Plan growth targets of 13,000 new jobs and 1,000 new homes in Paddington Opportunity Area; 4,000 new jobs and 1,000 new homes in Victoria Opportunity Area; and 3,000 new jobs and 150 new homes in Tottenham Court Road Opportunity Area;
  • renewal of Church Street / Edgware Road and Ebury Bridge Estate Housing Renewal Areas to collectively provide 2,750 new homes alongside increased local job opportunities; and
  • regeneration of the North West Economic Development Area including the commercial-led intensification of areas of commercial and mixed-use character, to increase local job opportunities alongside residential growth.

For more information please see the City Plan