The London Healthy Urban Development Unit (HUDU)
The London Healthy Urban Development Unit (HUDU) helps the NHS engage and respond proactively to population growth and change in London and to maximise the opportunities that aligning the health and planning agendas can bring to improve health and narrow health inequalities.
Staffed by professional town planners, the work of the unit is focused around:-
- partnerships for health – facilitating engagement between health and planning authorities at all levels
- influencing the planning and health agendas – integrating health into national, regional and local planning policy
- promoting healthy urban development – monitoring development and providing advice, guidance and support on the health impacts and opportunities to promote healthy communities and provide and fund appropriate health infrastructure
Encouraging and facilitating timely and effective engagement in plan making processes and the consideration of development proposals are at the heart of HUDU’s role.
We work proactively on behalf of the NHS across London to identify and capitalise on opportunities as well as working closely with individual primary care and other organisations to:
- promote healthy communities
- plan healthcare infrastructure needs at both a strategic and local level
- ensure that planning policies consider healthcare needs and wellbeing of the local population
- ensure healthcare plans are integrated with other plans
- respond to individual planning applications and proposals
- assess the health aspects and implications of planning proposals
- secure developer contributions for new health facilities using the HUDU model – including cash and “in kind” contributions
- respond to individual planning applications and proposals
- make the best use of available evidence and good practice
To see how we can help visit Our Services