A well-resourced, digital planning system is essential to prepare for a
sustainable economic recovery in England post COVID-19, according to a new
report by the Royal Town Planning Institute.
Prioritiesfor Planning Reform in England, which comes ahead of the
government’s forthcoming Planning White Paper, sets out five
recommendations for how better planning can be part of the solution to the
government’s objectives including tackling the UK’s housing crisis and wider
21st century issues
It welcomes the government’s plans for reforms aimed at delivering secure
and affordable housing, high quality sustainable development, and a more
efficient and accessible planning system. But also warns of the risks of
deregulation through greater permitted development rights and increased
US-style zoning.
Chief executive of the RTPI, Victoria Hills, said: “This report aims to
highlight the value of strategic, proactive planning in a sustainable economic
recovery post COVID-19 and beyond.
“Poorly planned developments create significant cost for occupiers, local
communities, infrastructure providers, wider society and the environment and
many of these issues have become increasingly visible during the lockdown
period.
“I urge policymakers to take heed of the recommendations in this report and
work constructively with the RTPI to create a strong plan-led system for the
future.”
The recommendations in the report include investing in places by properly
resourcing planning, making the role of Chief Planning Officer a statutory
position within every local authority, and launching a major grants programme
to stimulate affordable housebuilding.
It also calls on the government to adopt a more holistic approach to
planning by prioritising decarbonisation and climate resilience, design and
beauty, connectivity and accessibility, wellbeing and public health and
economic growth alongside housebuilding.
It calls for a clear direction on strategic planning and an
infrastructure-first approach to create beautiful, sustainable places. Plans
must set out clear place-based visions with sustainable transport, design,
health and wellbeing, resilience, climate and the environment integrated from
the start, it says. It also recommends the greater use of design codes and
style guides.
Technological innovation should be harnessed to foster more efficient and
inclusive planning, building upon innovations
by planners under the COVID-19 lockdown, says the report. This should
include making all planning documents machine-readable, standardising
terminology and processes across government and investing in open source tools
to be used across the development sector.
In a letter to Housing Minister Chris Pincher, Ms Hills said all the
recommendations in the report align closely with or go beyond the government’s
own objectives and are now even more pertinent given the unprecedented
challenges the country will face post lockdown.
In the coming months, the RTPI will follow this up with a detailed paper on
how planning should respond to the impacts of Covid-19 and ensure a sustainable
economic recovery.
