For developers and building owners
Construction Logistics Plans in London: What Developers Must Plan For
Sviatoslav JerdetchiiCEO & Founder of Craftex. Updated , 5 min read
The short answer
A construction logistics plan (CLP) sets out how materials, waste, plant and workers reach a site, and how the impact on roads and neighbours is kept down. In London, the London Plan says CLPs will be required and must follow TfL guidance.
- An outline CLP goes in with the planning application.
- A detailed CLP is approved before work starts, usually under a planning condition.
- HGVs over 12 tonnes in London need a Direct Vision permit.
- Site machinery must meet London's emission standards and be registered.
Treat a construction logistics plan as paperwork and it becomes the thing that stops your site. Treat it as the first programme document and it saves weeks.
A construction logistics plan (CLP) sets out how materials, waste, plant and workers reach a site in London. It also shows how the impact on roads, neighbours, pedestrians and cyclists is kept down. The London Plan, in Policy T7, says CLPs will be required and must follow Transport for London guidance.
This guide explains what goes in a CLP, the London rules it must respect, and why it is a cost document. Building on a tight street? Book a site visit and we will look at the access with you.
Outline CLP vs detailed CLP in London
TfL's Construction Logistics Planning guidance splits the plan in two. An outline CLP goes in with the planning application. A detailed CLP is approved before work starts, usually to discharge a planning condition.
| Outline CLP | Detailed CLP | |
|---|---|---|
| When | With the planning application | Before construction, at discharge of conditions |
| Who writes it | Developer and design team, often with a transport consultant | Developer with the appointed contractor |
| Detail | Expected activity, routes, main constraints, likely measures | Phased programme, vehicle numbers, booking, holding areas, monitoring |
| How it binds | Commitments in the Section 106 agreement or conditions | Approved by the council, then monitored on site |
| Status | Fixed with the permission | A living document, reviewed before each phase |
Medium and larger developments need both. Smaller schemes often cover logistics in the transport assessment. A council can still ask for a detailed CLP where the site has specific problems. Think of a narrow street, a school next door, a bus route or a red route.
What a CLP has to contain
The TfL guidance gives a structure most London boroughs expect.
- Introduction. The developer, the site, who wrote and approved the plan, and its aims.
- Context and constraints. Planning policy, local access, community issues and scaled maps.
- Programme and method. The phases, from demolition and enabling works to fit-out.
- Routing and site access. Routes to use and avoid, plus gates, loading and holding areas.
- Measures to reduce impact. Each one labelled committed, proposed or considered.
- Vehicle movements. Estimated trips by phase, with holding and unloading capacity.
- Monitoring and updates. Who checks compliance, what is recorded and how the plan changes.
The measures are where the plan earns its keep. They include delivery booking, consolidation centres, off-peak deliveries and holding areas off the street. They also include shared deliveries with nearby sites, and rail or water where the site allows.
Policy T7 asks schemes to consider rail and water for materials. It also asks for safe access for people walking and cycling throughout the works.
The London rules your logistics plan must respect
Four sets of rules shape almost every London CLP.
CLOCS and FORS
The CLOCS Standard covers how sites, vehicles and drivers are managed to reduce road risk. CLPs normally commit the developer to require CLOCS through procurement. Fleet operators are typically asked to hold FORS Silver. Write it into the building contract, or it will not happen.
Direct Vision Standard and the HGV Safety Permit
Since 28 October 2024, any HGV over 12 tonnes in Greater London needs a safety permit. It requires a three-star Direct Vision rating or the Progressive Safe System. Operators who do not comply risk a £550 penalty charge. Your suppliers' fleets must comply too, not only your contractor's.
Non-road mobile machinery (NRMM)
London sets its own emission standards for construction plant with engines of 37 to 560 kW.
| From | Standard across Greater London |
|---|---|
| 1 January 2025 | Stage IV |
| 1 January 2030 | Stage V |
| 1 January 2040 | Zero-emission machinery only |
Constant-speed engines, such as generators, already need Stage V across London. Most sites must register all in-scope machinery on the NRMM Register. It is also the only route for exemptions. Check the plant list before the site set-up is priced, because hiring compliant machinery late is expensive.
Highways licences and oversail
Hoardings, scaffolding, skips, materials on the pavement, crane oversail and parking bay suspensions each need permission. On a borough road, that is the council. On a red route, it is TfL. Build their lead times into the programme.
Crane oversail over a neighbour's land needs their agreement, usually by licence. That is separate from any party wall procedure.
Happy with the end result. Tight timeline but they pulled it off. The team worked late shifts and even weekends to help us open the doors on schedule. Site was always left tidy at the end of the day and no surprise charges either. Good communication throughout. Would definitely use Craftex again.
A CLP is a cost and programme document
Every line in a CLP has a price.
- A delivery window of 9.30 to 3.30 means fewer drops per day.
- A ban on waiting vehicles means a holding area or a consolidation centre.
- A narrow gate means smaller loads and more trips.
- A banksman at every movement means more labour in the preliminaries.
That is why the outline CLP written for planning should be tested by someone who will build the scheme. A plan that promises the council an impossible regime goes into the Section 106 agreement. The contractor then inherits it. Bringing the builder in at that stage is what a pre-construction services agreement is for.
What good London logistics looks like on site
We have delivered work where the neighbours never stopped trading. The logistics plan is what made it possible.
- At Portsoken House in Aldgate, the rest of the building stayed let. The reception was rebuilt at nights and weekends, with no disruption to tenants.
- On Savile Row, we refitted Drake's flagship store over 12 weeks while it stayed open. Every delivery and work slot was planned around trading.
- On Herbert Crescent in Knightsbridge, a 450 m² prime home, we controlled noise and access. We protected the neighbours and the building through the 32-week programme.
The common thread: the access, delivery and noise plan was agreed before work started. Someone on site owned it every day.
A developer's CLP checklist
How we plan logistics with the programme
On our design and build projects, the logistics plan is written alongside the programme and priced into it. The same applies where we run construction project management for a client.
For schemes still at land stage, our development management team tests access and logistics in the first appraisal, before the scheme is fixed. Planning a development on a tight London site? Book a site visit and we will tell you what it will take to build.
Construction logistics plan checklist
- Outline CLP drafted with input from someone who will build the scheme.
- Delivery hours, holding areas and vehicle sizes tested against the programme.
- CLOCS and FORS Silver written into the building contract.
- Every supplier's HGVs checked for the Direct Vision permit.
- Plant list checked against London NRMM standards, and the site registered.
- Highways licences and parking suspensions in the programme with their lead times.
- Crane oversail and scaffold licences agreed with neighbours.
- A named person who records vehicle movements, complaints and breaches.
- Detailed CLP updated before each new phase.
