Construction Management Plans in Lambeth

Lambeth asks for a draft Construction Management Plan or Construction Logistics Plan with every major application and with smaller schemes, including basements, that are likely to disturb neighbours or obstruct the highway. Unlike Westminster or Islington, Lambeth has no named code of construction practice. What the plan must cover comes from the council’s Local List, Local Plan Policy T7 and, for basements, the Basements SPD, with TfL’s CLP guidance as the reference format.

When Lambeth Requires a CMP or CLP

Lambeth’s Local Information Requirements (December 2024) ask for a draft Construction Management Plan, Construction Logistics Plan or Construction Environmental Management Plan with:

• All major development
• Minor developments, including basements, likely to cause nuisance or disturbance to residential amenity during construction
• Minor developments likely to cause a hazard or obstruction on the public highway during construction

What the Draft Plan Must Cover

The draft plan submitted with the application must set out the programmed duration, construction vehicle routing, the number and type of construction vehicles, and site access and egress arrangements, together with details of participation in the relevant construction vehicle management groups. Large-scale schemes should also include a Construction Phasing Plan. Lambeth publishes no template of its own: the Local List points applicants to TfL’s freight and CLP guidance and the Mayor’s Control of Dust and Emissions SPG. Local Plan Policy T7 asks for a plan “appropriate to the scale of the development”, and in practice the final CMP or CLP is then approved through a discharge-of-conditions application before work starts.

Construction Logistics and CLOCS

Under Policy T7 of the Lambeth Local Plan (2021), developers and their contractors are expected to meet the CLOCS standard and be registered with FORS or an equivalent scheme. The Construction Logistics Plan must also show that the impacts of other construction activity near the site have been considered and, where appropriate, coordinated with neighbouring developers and contractors. Construction vehicles should meet or exceed the minimum Direct Vision Standard and carry cycle safety equipment, and sites close to the Thames are expected to consider moving materials and waste by river as part of the construction management plan.

Construction Working Hours in Lambeth

Construction and building work in Lambeth is only allowed 8am–6pm Monday to Friday and 8am–1pm on Saturdays, and is not allowed on Sundays or bank holidays. Lambeth’s Basements SPD notes that construction noise and vibration are controlled principally under the Control of Pollution Act 1974, separately from the planning system, so the CMP should commit to these hours and to best practicable means for noise, vibration and dust.

Basements in Lambeth

Local Plan Policy Q27 requires a Stage 1 (Screening) Basement Impact Assessment by a qualified professional with every basement application, and the council can ask for further stages, with applicants expected to pay for any independent assessment. Lambeth’s Basements SPD (August 2023) requires a draft CMP with the planning application and a finalised CMP as a pre-commencement condition, reviewed by a suitably qualified and experienced engineer and following Considerate Constructors Scheme standards. The final CMP must cover:

• Contacts, the programme, working hours and a 24-hour emergency contact
• Ground and structural stability, groundwater and movement monitoring
• Hoardings
• Parking, deliveries and vehicle routing
• Dust, noise and vibration control, including wheel washing
• Waste management
• Protection of heritage assets

Air Quality and Machinery

The whole of Lambeth is an Air Quality Management Area, and the Local List requires an Air Quality Assessment with all major and minor applications. Lambeth conditions sites to meet the Mayor’s Non-Road Mobile Machinery emission standards when it grants permission, and its planning enforcement team monitors compliance with the NRMM register.

Highways Licences and Timescales

Lambeth says to expect a response to a discharge-of-conditions application within 8 weeks. Highways licences for scaffolding, hoarding, fencing, gantries, stored materials, cabins and containers must be applied for by the principal or building contractor, with a copy of its public liability insurance, and the notice period is 20 working days. For 2026/27 the fee is £765 per licence: six-week licences cover hoardings, scaffolding and materials, and one-week licences cover cranes, hoists and gantries. Standard parking bay suspensions need at least 10 working days’ notice, so the CMP and the licences it relies on are best programmed together as soon as permission is granted.

How CMP Construct Helps in Lambeth

CMP Construct prepares council-compliant Construction Management Plans across Lambeth and more than 20 London boroughs. We draft most plans within 7–10 working days, submit in the format Lambeth Council expects, and handle officer comments through to discharge of your condition. Where your condition also asks for a Construction Traffic Management Plan (CTMP), a Construction Logistics Plan (CLP) or a Construction Environmental Management Plan (CEMP), we produce them as one consistent package. New to the process? Start with our complete guide to Construction Management Plans or see what a CMP costs.

Official Lambeth Guidance

The council documents below set out Lambeth Council's own requirements. We work to these day to day; they are linked here so you can verify any requirement directly:

• Lambeth Local Information Requirements (December 2024)
• Lambeth Design Guide SPD Part 5: Basements (August 2023)
• Lambeth Local Plan (September 2021): Policies T7 and Q27
• TfL Construction Logistics Plan guidance

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