Urgent calls to reform London Plan as thousands of cycle parking spaces sit empty

London’s current cycle parking requirements for new developments are “misaligned” with actual usage and require urgent reform in the upcoming London Plan, City Hall has been informed.

Under the existing London Plan, which was adopted in 2021 and dictates development regulations across the capital, a studio or one-bedroom flat must provide one cycle parking space. This increases to 1.5 spaces for a two-person flat and two spaces for all other residential types.

While the regulations have been temporarily relaxed until 2028 as part of emergency measures agreed in 2025 by the mayor of London and the government to stimulate housebuilding and acknowledge the rise of bike hire schemes, the underlying principle is now under scrutiny.

With the initial draft of the new London Plan anticipated later this summer, Sir Sadiq Khan is facing calls to review these requirements.

Research from BusinessLDN reveals that only 24 per cent of nearly 30,000 cycle spaces analysed across 40 developments in London were actually occupied.

The figures are even starker in purpose-built student accommodation, where just 4.6 per cent of approximately 6,000 spaces across 19 sites were in use, while City of London offices saw occupancy rates of around a fifth.

“Even in high-density, car-free, or car-light schemes, demand for internal, private parking remains well below London Plan expectation,” the report concludes.

“Paired with the data on the rising use of dockless e-bikes highlighted in the introduction, the evidence we have collected shows a clear pattern of overprovision and underuse of private cycle parking across all types of development.

“Demand for personal long-stay storage is low, while shared and dockless e-bikes are becoming increasingly popular, reducing reliance on private internal spaces.

“This underuse is consistent across boroughs, levels of public transport accessibility, and development types, demonstrating that the issue is system-wide rather than limited to individual sites.

“Overprovision of cycle parking reduces flexibility in building design, increases costs, and can limit the amount of lettable or saleable floorspace, undermining the viability of schemes.”

Empty cycle storage space, BusinessLDN says, “takes up valuable space that could otherwise be used for homes, shops, or green space”, while also noting the carbon-intensive process needed to build them in basements.

The advocacy group has called on City Hall to replace current cycle parking requirements with lower, evidenced baselines – and only add spaces if the demand reflects it, rather than planning for a rise in use that may never happen.

In response to the findings, City Hall sources suggested the new London Plan would be a more accurate reflection of modern-day cycle parking demand.

Recent emergency measures agreed with ministers appear to give some indication that officials are looking to overhaul current standards.

“The GLA propose to reduce requirements for cycle parking at residential developments, taking into account higher densities of development in London and the rise of dockless cycle and e-scooter hire,” a document released last year said.

“Additional flexibility will also be proposed in how the cycle storage is provided to avoid costly requirements.”

However, there are plenty of examples too of where cycle storage is not sufficient, and lots of Londoners do own their own bikes.

TfL stats show that in 2025, the proportion of cyclists using ‘shared’ bikes was just 10 per cent, meaning the vast majority of cycling Londoners get around on their privately owned two-wheeled vehicles.

The rise in cycling in the capital – there are now 1.5million journeys made daily in London – has also led to a shortage of spaces in some boroughs, especially for residents without the luxury of cycle storage in their developments.

A spokesperson from the London Cycling Campaign told the LDRS: “The continued lack of secure cycle storage in London is a major barrier to cycling growth, with people who live in flats most affected.

“A study by Clean Cities found that the waiting list for spaces in small on-street cycle compounds called hangars was 60,000 across the capital in 2023.

“While some boroughs like Hackney and Waltham Forest each have more than 1,000 hangars, accommodating six bikes per hangar, others have just a couple of dozen.

“Cycling is good for the climate, for public health and helps reduce congestion – lack of cycle storage should not be a major obstacle to cycle use. We want the waiting list for cycle storage in London to shrink to zero.”

A spokesperson for the Mayor told the LDRS: “As we develop the new London Plan, we are reviewing all policy areas to ensure they reflect how Londoners live and travel today.

“This includes updating our cycle parking standards to reflect the rise of e-scooters, dockless bike hire, and the expanded Santander Cycles network as well as feedback about the use of cycle parking and the challenging issues currently facing development.

“In updating the cycle parking standards, our goal is to balance the practical realities of development, while supporting the continued growth in cycling to create a safer, greener London for everyone.”