London Property Alliance’s report on Social Value in the Built Environment examines the need to better embed, measure and communicate the social benefits delivered through development.
Despite significant efforts across the property industry to deliver long-term social value, the widespread benefits of development are often hidden from local communities. This is exacerbated by the lack of a standardised approach, causing confusion and undermining the property sector’s ability to build consensus, collaborate and amplify the social benefits.
Drawing on conversations with policy makers and practitioners at the forefront of the social value debate, it sets out five recommendations alongside a toolkit for embedding social value in all stages of the development process.
- National guidance is needed to clearly define social value in a development context and how it can be balanced alongside economic and environmental considerations.
- The Mayor of London should lead a city-wide review to define priorities, evaluation methods, and best practice guidelines in collaboration with industry and local authorities.
- Local authorities should clearly articulate the role of the property industry in locally-funded projects, with time-limited mandates introduced to prevent developer contributions from going unspent.
- Public procurement should prioritise real-life outcomes and place-making over proxy values and monetisation.
- A central database of best practice case studies should be created to support professional learning and knowledge sharing.
In his foreword, WPA Immediate Past Chair Marcus Geddes (Managing Director, Workplace, Landsec) writes:
“This report, led by the London Property Alliance’s Diversity, Equity and Inclusion Committee, is a call to action from the capital’s real estate sector. It offers practical case studies and valuable insights to help navigate the evolving social value landscape, and aims to both inform and inspire ever greater impactful work across our industry.”
This report was written by Future Places Studio has been sponsored by BGO, Charles Russell Speechlys, Gardiner & Theobald, Grosvenor, Landsec, Savills and The Pollen Estate. It was commissioned by the London Property Alliance Diversity, Equity and Inclusion (DEI) Committee, alongside the City Property Association and Westminster Property Association NextGen committees.
Read the report here
