Most new homes in London have no car parking
The majority of new London housing projects approved this year will essentially provide no parking for residents, as Sir Sadiq Khan is accused waging a campaign against motorists.
Some 62pc of housing developments involving 10 or more homes that have been approved so far this year have been “car free”, according to Glenigan, a construction data company.
This means the number of parking spaces planned account for 5pc or less of the number of homes under development, suggesting most residents will not be able to park their cars there.
Major new developments with only scarce parking include Asda’s proposal for a 1,600-home development in west London, which will include only disabled parking; and a 1,500-property plan for Limmo Peninsula in Newham, east London, which Sir Sadiq’s Transport for London last year boasted was “effectively car-free”.
So far, 2025 has seen the highest proportion of “car-free” housing projects approved in London on record. It is also the first time in eight years that essentially parking-free housing projects have accounted for the majority of approvals.
The milestone follows a series of policies introduced by the Mayor of London that have made it more expensive to own a car in the capital. This includes the ultra-low emissions zone (Ulez), which was expanded two years ago to cover the whole of the capital, and the congestion charge, which is rising by 20pc to £18 next year.
Sir Sadiq’s development strategy drawn up in 2021, known as the London Plan, also mandates car-free developments for swathes of the capital.
The Mayor of London’s policies are designed to improve London’s air quality, with Sir Sadiq claiming that toxic air pollution kills an estimated 4,000 Londoners each year.
However, critics say Sir Sadiq’s policies are punishing residents who rely on cars, and argue that the parking plans are unrealistic.
Andrew Boff, London Assembly member and the City Hall Conservatives’ representative on planning matters, said: “Parking is infrastructure, and by removing parking from developments you simply move the issue to other parts of the local area rather than remove the problem altogether.”
Mr Boff said the Mayor had “made it clear how little he thinks of those who need to rely on their motor, despite his dependence on vehicles to get around”.
He said: “The London Plan requiring developments to be car-free is only going to make this issue worse: as we’ve been saying, making something ‘car-free’ only realistically means it will be ‘parking space free’.”
Last month Sir Sadiq faced claims he was waging a fresh war on drivers in the capital, after an official accidentally leaked a document containing a series of anti-motorist proposals. Measures included cutting the number of car parking spaces available in the city, painting more double yellow lines and expanding controlled parking zones.
Allan Wilén, the economics director at Glenigan, said: “Congestion charge and Ulez have added to motoring costs and particularly for frequent short journeys around town.
“This may be reducing the attraction of car ownership for some households, especially in areas with good transport links and access to car clubs, prompting developers to downgrade parking provision as a selling point on new developments.
“In addition a ‘car-free’ design for a development will free up space, allowing more homes on the site or the inclusion of more green space and other amenities.”
He added that the higher number was “in part a response to residents’ concerns that new developments will exacerbate traffic congestion locally”.
The 62pc “car-free” figure compares with 45pc of housing projects in the first half of 2024 and 40pc during the first six months of 2023.
The last time car-free developments edged into the majority during a comparable period was in 2017, when they amounted to 51pc of all new-build residential projects in London.
A spokesman for the Mayor of London said: “The Mayor is committed to making the best use of land to ensure we can build the affordable homes Londoners need.
“Developments that are not dependent on cars can deliver significantly more homes on the same area and help create genuinely liveable, sustainable neighbourhoods.”
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