How can public land play a greater role in delivering the homes London needs? That was the focus of a recent BusinessLDN event, kindly hosted by Eleanor Parry, UK Public Affairs Director, JLL, and chaired by Jonathan Seager, our Policy Delivery Director for Research and Impact, which brought together leaders from the Greater London Authority (GLA), the Old Oak and Park Royal Development Corporation (OPDC) and Lendlease to explore how public land can unlock housing delivery and regeneration across the capital.
A central theme was the importance of partnership and coordination. Sarah Birt, Assistant Director for Land and Development at the GLA, outlined the GLA’s strategic approach to public land through GLA Land and Property Limited (GLAP), whose landholdings have significant potential to support new homes. But unlocking that opportunity requires more than land alone. Speakers agreed on the need for greater alignment between public landowners, with clear leadership and a shared vision for how assets can support both housing and wider growth.
Flexibility was equally important. Major regeneration programmes can span decades, during which market conditions, policy priorities and economic pressures will inevitably change. Ed Mayes, Executive Director of Development at Lendlease, highlighted the importance of being able to respond to those shifts, with panellists agreeing that flexibility in tenure, funding and delivery models will be critical to keeping long-term programmes moving.
That flexibility needs to be matched by a more active public sector role. Rather than simply bringing land to market, public bodies are increasingly working alongside delivery partners and using the levers available to them to unlock development. Marianne Brook, Development Director at OPDC, brought this to life through OPDC’s plans for a new district in west London. By bringing together land owned by multiple public bodies around a shared ambition, the project demonstrates what coordinated public sector action can achieve, with plans for around 8,000 homes and 11,000 jobs.
Dan Maton, Assistant Director for Investment and Operations at the GLA, opened the meeting with a presentation highlighting how the GLA’s investment and funding programmes are helping to unlock sites and maintain momentum in challenging market conditions. This prompted a wider discussion about market confidence. Reducing construction costs remains important, but supporting demand is equally critical. Homes cannot be considered in isolation. Investment in infrastructure, transport and amenities is essential to creating places where people want to live and where the market has the confidence to invest.
The panel was also clear that there is no single housing product that will solve London’s housing challenge. A range of tenures must work alongside one another, particularly if London is to support households in the “squeezed middle” who do not qualify for social housing but are increasingly priced out of home ownership.
Ultimately, the discussion demonstrated that unlocking public land is about much more than housing numbers. It requires leadership, flexibility and collaboration, alongside a clear plan for growth and sustained investment in infrastructure. By aligning public landowners and working closely with the private sector, London can make better use of its public assets to deliver the homes, jobs and communities the capital needs.