Southwark launches ‘land commission’ to shape development

Southwark Council will next month launch a land commission that aims to help shape the borough’s future development by maximising the use of available sites “for public good”.

The project is being led by consultancy PRD, borough-based place-shaping specialist We Made That, and PMV Planning.

Members of the commission include Igloo Regeneration chair and founder Chris Brown; Transport for London head of property Peter Elliot; London Metropolitan University professor of urbanism Mark Brearley; Deft. Space director and Central Saint Martins architecture lecturer Shade Abdul; and University College London chair in culture, philosophy and design Henrietta L Moore.

James McAsh, Southwark’s cabinet member for climate emergency and sustainable development, said the land commission was a first for the capital and only the second of its kind in the country.

“Bringing together a panel of experts, community groups and major landowners, the commission will interrogate how more of our borough’s land can be freed up for the public good,” he said.

“We’ll look at how power to shape land can be radically devolved to the communities who use it.

“The Southwark Land Commission is an opportunity to think big and push the envelope, for the benefit of the borough’s residents and beyond.”

The commission is being chaired by Miatta Fahnbulleh, chief executive of the New Economics Foundation. Its first meeting is due to take place on 28 February.