Opportunity Area Planning Framework (OAPF)
The Greater London Authority (GLA) support the compiling of Opportunity Area Planning Frameworks (OAPFs), which are documents used to specify how an ‘opportunity area’ can be developed.
Opportunity areas are defined in the London Plan as brownfield land that has ‘…significant capacity to accommodate new housing, commercial and other development linked to existing or potential improvements to public transport accessibility’. Opportunity areas can typically accommodate at least 5,000 jobs or 2,500 new homes, or a combination of the two.
The purpose of OAPFs is to consider how the key development sites fit within a policy context and to provide a strategic and design-led approach to spatial planning. They also seek to identify and resolve policy and cross-borough issues that may prove contentious during the early stages of the planning process. They provide certainty to the development process and for investment, and build consensus between public and private stakeholders.
OAPFs tend to focus on implementation and aim to provide both developers and local communities with a development timeframe, rooting the project within an agreed strategy.
OAPFs identify opportunities and challenges that the development should aim to resolve, which may include:
- Land use.
- Infrastructure provision.
- Spatial integration and planning strategies.
- Public realm guidelines.
- Energy requirements.
- Regeneration.
- Land assembly.
- Phasing.
- Tall building strategy.
[edit] Related articles on Designing Buildings Wiki
- City Hall, London.
- Community plan.
- Development plan.
- GLA Housing Design SPG.
- Laying the foundations: a housing strategy for England.
- Local development scheme.
- London infrastructure plan.
- London Land Commission.
- London View Management Framework.
- Planning permission.
- Regional spatial strategy.
- Supplementary planning documents.
- The London Plan.
[edit] External resources
- London.gov.uk - What are opportunity areas?
Featured articles and news
Mental Health Awareness Week with ABS
Architects Benevolent Society programme of activity.
CLC publishes domestic retrofit competency framework
Roadmap of Skills for net zero.
May 13-19: Moving more for our mental health.
Understanding is key to conservation.
Open industry engagement survey seeks responses
Institutions and the importance of engagement.
National Retrofit Hub unveils new guide
Digital Building Logbooks and Retrofit: An Introduction.
Top 50 firms awarded 52bn of projects in the last year
New engineering data shows.
Enhancing construction site reporting efficiency
Through digitisation and the digital revolution.
Noise in the built environment
BSRIA guide TG 20/2021.
17,000 people suffer conditions as a result of exposure to excessive noise at work.
Turning down the noise: Auditory health
A pervasive risk with far-reaching consequences.
Getting the most out of heat pumps and heating
How heat pumps work and how they work best.
Plumbing and heating for successful retrofit and renovation
Low temperature underfloor systems and heat pumps.
Cost-of-living crisis and home improvement plans
Starting on the right footing and top tips for projects.
Delays on construction projects
Types, mitigation and the acceleration of works.
From Chaucer to Fawlty Towers.
Electrotechnical excellence, now open for entries.
Net zero electricity grids BSRIA guide NZG 5/2024
Outlining the changes needed to transition to net zero.
CIOB Global Student Challenge 2024
Universitas Indonesia wins for second year running.