Planning for a growing population

London’s population is now the largest it has ever been, at 8.9m, and is projected to continue growing and reach 10.8m by 2041. The number of households in Lambeth is projected to grow from 143,655 in 2016 to 172,649 in 2036 with a population over 359,0007.

As well as providing homes where many highly skilled people live, Lambeth is an important part of London’s economy, an economy which has experienced growth more strongly than the rest of the UK as a whole, and significant further growth is expected with an increase in employment space of 23,000 jobs in Waterloo and Vauxhall alone.

Lambeth’s emerging Growth Strategy underlines the importance of investment in the borough to our ability to deliver across a range of key objectives, tackling inequality and improving the lives of our residents. Transport and place-making are core aspects of our strategy to deliver a Resilient Lambeth.

The Mayor, through the New London Plan (NLP), has committed to protect greenbelt land and chosen to develop the existing urban area more densely, with new homes and jobs largely provided in areas with good public transport connectivity.

Projected growth will generate additional trips on our transport network. There are no major plans at the London-wide level for building new roads, or widening existing ones, to create additional capacity. The challenge is therefore to use our existing road network in a more efficient way, to accommodate the trips necessary for the city to function well, at the same time delivering new and improved public transport infrastructure.

This Strategy has been developed in parallel with the review of Lambeth’s Local Plan, our spatial strategy for development in the borough. The way we shape and plan development in Lambeth has a significant bearing on the transport network and is critical in delivering our sustainable transport objectives. The Strategy also responds to Lambeth declaring a Climate Emergency and the policies and actions emerging in response, as well as to our emerging Digital Strategy and updated Borough Plan.