Cycle parking to the London Plan.

Policy T5 of the London Plan 2021 sets minimum cycle parking standards for each type of development, split into long-stay spaces for residents and staff and short-stay spaces for visitors. Some boroughs ask for more. The London Cycling Design Standards set out how the spaces should be designed.

The Mayor’s London Plan Guidance on Support for Housebuilding, published in March 2026, replaces the London Plan’s long-stay residential cycle parking minimums with lower figures that vary by borough. It applies until 31 March 2028, when the new London Plan is expected to be in place, and covers homes, purpose-built student accommodation and large-scale shared living.

Long-stay spaces per home. Band 1: Camden, City of London, Hackney, Hammersmith and Fulham, Islington, Kensington and Chelsea, Lambeth, Richmond, Southwark, Waltham Forest, Wandsworth and Westminster. Band 2: Brent, Ealing, Enfield, Haringey, Hounslow, Kingston, Lewisham, Merton, Newham and Tower Hamlets. Band 3: Barking and Dagenham, Barnet, Bexley, Bromley, Croydon, Greenwich, Harrow, Havering, Hillingdon, Redbridge and Sutton.

The guidance also lets some provision come from cycle or scooter hire space, managed shared cycles for residents, on-street cycle hangars, folding cycle storage or a contribution to off-site communal parking agreed with the borough. Lower provision can be considered where it avoids a basement or another design requirement that materially affects viability, or where a small footprint makes the standard disproportionate. Boroughs with compelling evidence of higher demand can still ask for more. Short-stay visitor spaces are not changed.

• Secure, covered and step-free access from the street.
• A mix of stand types, with provision for larger and adapted cycles.
• Door widths, corridor widths and lift sizes that suit a bicycle.
• Visitor stands close to entrances, on private land where possible.
• Clear routes that do not conflict with refuse collection or servicing.

Flat conversions and HMOs in existing buildings rarely have obvious space for cycle parking. Front garden stores, rear access and internal rooms can all work if they are designed properly. We look for the option that meets the standard, or explain clearly why a lower figure is the best the building can deliver.

Officers want to see the spaces drawn to scale, with stand types and access routes. We prepare or check the layout and set out the numbers against the standard in a short table, so the application can be validated and assessed without further requests.

The London Plan 2021 remains the adopted plan. The Mayor published a draft new London Plan on 16 July 2026, with consultation running to 15 October 2026 and submission for examination expected in 2027. Until it is adopted, its policies carry limited weight, so we apply the 2021 plan and borough policy, and flag where the draft points in a different direction.