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The looming resignation of city hall’s planning director John Fleming, a key architect behind much of London’s vision for the future, will leave a hole that must be filled by the broader community, politicians and observers say.

Fleming’s departure opens the door for Londoners to take up the mantle of big, brave projects that drive long-term goals for the city. But it also raises the question of whether that momentum will be lost, one political scientist says.

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“It’s going to leave a significant hole in the landscape. I’ve seen John Fleming, in a very quiet but also in a very strategic and determined way, leading the charge on long-range planning and planning around how London will look in the future,” Western University’s Martin Horak, an expert on local government, said.

“Honestly, what I think London needs right now is a strong voice coming from the community, and not just an individual. It needs a group of people that are championing the value of thinking bold, of good quality planning, thinking toward the future in the city of London and not just reacting to the pressures of the day,” Horak added.

Fleming is a 30-year city hall veteran whose fingerprints are all over the city’s biggest, and most controversial, projects in recent years, including the Dundas Place flex street, rapid transit and the London Plan, city hall’s new blueprint for growth over the next few decades but tied up in appeals from developers.