LAASN Open Letter to the Mayor of London
Re: The New London Plan – Prioritising Affordable Artists’ Studios in London’s Future
20th June 2025
Dear Sir Sadiq Khan,
London’s Affordable Artists Studio Network (LAASN) welcomes the ambition of the new London Plan to address the housing crisis and support the creative industries. The economic value generated by artists is widely recognised, as well as their significance as the underlying foundation of one of the biggest industries in London. ‘Sustainable Cities and Communities’ is one of the UN Sustainable Development Goals, and productiveness and particularly the diversity of productive spaces are key to anchor local wealth, local communities, reduce travel distances, and improve the quality of urban life. We are therefore concerned by the New London Plan’s lack of specific focus on artists’ studios—a distinct and critical part of London’s creative and cultural ecosystem that risks being lost without clearer policy protection, planning mechanisms and funding.
1.
Artists’ Studios Are Not the Same as Creative or Cultural Workspaces the term "creative workspace" or “affordable workspace” definition often groups together a broad range of users—putting together artist studio providers with much higher value co-working or office spaces for digital entrepreneurs to units for animators and designers. These groups have different fit-out needs and much higher earning potential than independent artists. The workspace needs of artists - who are typically self-employed, earn lower than average incomes, and regularly require specialist, non-digital, process-based space - are distinct.
The provision of artist studios is typically:
Non-profit and mission-led
Basic in fit-out but purpose-built or repurposed for manual, material-based practice
In need of long-term, secure tenure at genuinely affordable rents
We urge the GLA to distinguish clearly between non-profit artist studios and commercial creative or cultural workspace across all policy frameworks—especially in planning definitions, funding criteria, and impact assessments.
2.
Affordability Must Be Defined—Not Estimated
The term “affordable” in policy definition is too often applied to workspace at percentage below market rent. This approach is unsatisfactory for all involved and open to manipulation. Critically the approach does not necessarily secure genuinely affordable workspace for artists. Without a clear ‘definition of affordability’, subsidies may be misdirected and not deliver provision that meets artists’ needs.
LAASN propose that:
Affordability is set in policy not as a discount of open market rent, but as genuinely affordable in relation to artists’ means. The Herbert Affordability Formula sets out what is actually affordable for an artist. This means that any rent and service charges made to studio providers must be low, capped and increased only based on RPI. We would be happy to work with the GLA to develop affordability criteria.
Local Plans and the London Plan include separate benchmarks for different workspace types, with artists’ studios clearly delineated as separate provision.
Artists’ and not-for-profit studio providers are formally involved in setting these benchmarks.
LAASN members are experts in delivering affordable art studios based on decades of experience. We are ready to work with the GLA, planners, and developers to get this right.
3.
Health and Wellbeing
Artist studio provision fosters individual and collective, community wellbeing by offering essential opportunities for participation and connection. Creative activity within studios enhances mental wellbeing.
Studios also function as incubators for lifelong learning, from peer-to-peer engagement, as well as some provision offering specific education and skills development initiatives.
Given this demonstrable and multifaceted contribution to wellbeing — spanning social, mental, communal, and educational dimensions — we feel that Health Impact Assessments (HIAs) for relevant developments would ideally recognise and evaluate the significant positive wellbeing impacts generated by the inclusion of genuinely affordable artists’ studio provision.
A Call for Inclusion
Just as London needs affordable homes and green space for its communities, it also needs to protect the spaces where art is made, artist studios are the powerhouse behind museums, galleries, art fairs, education and research. Without intervention, we face a loss of artists from the city—alongside their contributions to our identity, local economies and global reputation.
LAASN has put a lot of work and discussion into ways in which the CEZ’s and S106 could be more effective and has compiled a list of positive recommendations which we would be pleased to share with you at stakeholder events.
We call on the GLA to:
Establish clear planning categories and protections for artists’ studios
Involve LAASN in the shaping of CEZs, S106 guidelines, and Local Plan development
Recognise that artists’ needs are distinct from broader creative industries, and require tailored policy and funding support
Talk with us about how artists can not only make use of studios in new developments but also Strategic Industrial Land which can be particularly useful for sculptors
We look forward to contributing our expertise to the next phase of the New London Plan and helping to build a future in which artists can afford to live and work in the city they sustain.
Yours sincerely,
Fiona Long
Chair, on behalf of
London’s Affordable Artists Studio Network (LAASN)