The Good Growth Blueprint for London’s High Streets

London’s high streets are the vibrant hearts of local communities as centres of commerce, culture, and daily life. With the publication of the London Growth Plan earlier this year, these key economic arteries are poised for renewed energy and opportunity. The Growth Plan is more than a standalone economic strategy; it weaves together key elements from existing frameworks, specifically the London Plan and the Police and Crime Plan, to ensure inclusive, comprehensive and coherent growth. Meanwhile, sustainable long-term funding underpins the success of any ambitions.

Here we look at how various key development strategies interact with others, and the prospect of public and private investment in London’s growth priorities.

Are key plans for London growth aligned?

The London Growth Plan can not operate in silos. Instead, to achieve its objectives, it must interact with other key plans including the London Plan, the Police and Crime Plan and the Central government’s devolution agenda.  

The long-awaited London Plan review consultation is well underway. The review frames London’s future around “Good Growth” – development that is socially and economically inclusive and environmentally sustainable. Six principles steer every policy: building strong, inclusive communities; making best use of land; creating a healthy city; delivering the homes Londoners need; growing a good economy; and increasing efficiency and resilience.

The paper proposes a far more flexible, “place-first” strategy for high streets and places, allowing every town centre to host the mix of uses, namely housing, light-industrial, labs, culture, leisure, health and community facilities, it can viably support while requiring adaptable ground-floor designs, encouraging meanwhile uses and rental-auction powers to tackle vacancy, and asking boroughs to draw up growth plans that knit transport, public realm greening and 24-hour economy zones with new mid-to-high-density homes to keep footfall and local services thriving.

The new Police and Crime Plan acknowledges the importance of safety to achieving national and regional mission on growth. However,  safeguarding economic activities, especially in high streets, is missing in the plan as a strategic priority. This could be particularly damaging to the experience economy, hence the Growth Plan as the experience economy is one of its five key growth pillars while crime remains concerning in key areas like the West End.

The devolution agenda has the potential to significantly enhance London’s growth allowing London to set its own priorities and obtain the flexibility to deliver them. Discussion is underway on greater powers over key areas like funding, skills, transport, and housing. One to be highlighted is an integrated settlement, seen in other mayoral areas like Greater Manchester, which could bring together funding streams into a single pot and enable more strategic long-term investment decisions and greater accountability at the city level.

Will there be enough money to turbocharge the transformation?

Investor sentiment towards London's high streets, particularly highlighted at MIPIM 2025, shows cautious optimism. Global and local investors are attracted by London's strategic clarity and the alignment between city-wide authorities, including the Mayor’s Office, borough leaders, and private sector stakeholders. Regeneration projects focused around transport hubs, affordable housing, and sustainable development are particularly appealing to investors, providing clear and attractive opportunities for growth. 

However, confidence is tempered by acknowledged challenges, such as prolonged planning processes, infrastructure deficits, and higher financing costs due to current interest rates. Investors emphasise the importance of streamlined regulation, improved infrastructure capacity, and stable economic conditions to sustain and grow their interest in London’s regeneration opportunities.

London’s local government finance, on the other hand, faces a complex outlook between 2025 and 2029, with constrained resources posing significant challenges for high street regeneration. Borough councils now likely face tight budgets driven by reduced central government funding and a potential reset in retained business rates in 2026–27, which could diminish their capacity to reinvest in local development. This funding pressure restricts discretionary spending, notably impacting councils' abilities to fund ambitious regeneration projects or undertake significant public realm improvements independently. 

Emerging fiscal policies such as the Recovery Grant and potential fiscal devolution deals, including increased business rates retention, offer boroughs and the Mayor potential avenues to bolster their financial positions. Effective partnership with private investors, leveraging development contributions, and targeted central government grants like the High Streets and Places Fund could enable London boroughs to mitigate these financial constraints and support ongoing regeneration efforts.