Density versus safety: The Building Safety Act is a barrier to building upwards An Article By: Chris Hemmings, Partner, Carter Jonas Feature Provided By: PNPR The word ‘density’ is increasingly used in the context of planning and development. In places with the greatest need for new homes, land is scarce, boundaries are tight and opportunities to expand outwards are limited. In those circumstances, building more homes almost inevitably means building more densely. Unpacking the density gap And yet the UK is failing to do so. Centre for Cities’ report Flat Britain: The urban density gap and how to close it shows that if British cities were built at the density of their French or Japanese peers, they would contain at least 2.3 million additional homes across their urban cores.  Furthermore, if the density of London’s urban core (Zones 1 – 3) matched that of Paris, the capital would have at least 500,000 more homes. The problem is not limited to London: the report also states that the density gap is greatest in Britain’s big cities outside of London – these 12 alone comprise over half of the total gap. Recent data from the Greater London Authority shows that the number of … Continue reading The Urban Density Slowdown Of 2026