The Abundance Agenda A non-emergency podcast about the climate emergency
Jul 21, 2025
In this conversation with Tom Copley, the Deputy Mayor of London for Housing and Residential Development, fascinating insights on London’s housing crisis unfold. Copley discusses a new fund aimed at financing housing, revealing why Sadiq Khan revised his stance on greenbelt land. He highlights the challenges of meeting ambitious housing targets while balancing environmental needs. The dialogue also touches on the absurdity of climate emergency declarations without action, underlining the pressing need for strategic integration between housing and transportation in the city.
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Planning Bill's Nature Restoration Fund
- The Planning and Infrastructure Bill aims to speed up construction and improve nature conservation with a centralized Nature Restoration Fund.
- This approach shifts nature mitigation from individual projects to strategic investments, benefiting both development and biodiversity.
Amendments Threaten Planning Bill
- Amendments proposed to the planning bill may weaken its effectiveness by creating new opportunities to challenge developments.
- Enhanced environmental safeguards risk reinstating delays and judicial reviews, threatening the bill's original goal of faster building.
Hold Firm on Planning Reform
- Holding firm to planning reforms is essential, as compromising undermines progress just like in dieting or policy.
- Diluting policies leads to ineffective outcomes, resembling previous welfare bill and rural broadband program failures.