Government's housebuilding programme puts planning system at centre, says Royal Town Planning Institute

Government’s housebuilding programme puts planning system at centre, says Royal Town Planning Institute

The Royal Town Planning Institute (RTPI) has noted the emphasis on the planning system’s pivotal role in the government’s plan to revive the UK economy, as outlined in the King’s Speech.

Victoria Hills, Chief Executive of the RTPI, commended the government’s efforts to increase the capacity of local planning authorities and underscored the potential impact of these measures on restoring trust in the planning system and fostering thriving communities.

Victoria Hills, Chief Executive of the RTPI, said: “The government has laid the groundwork for achieving its housing and infrastructure ambitions by setting plans to increase the capacity of local planning authorities. We believe that these measures will not only restore trust in the planning system but also demonstrate that with sufficient resources, the planning system can effectively create spaces where communities can thrive.

“It is essential for planners to make a significant impact within the government’s first parliamentary term. To achieve this, measures such as ringfencing resources, allowing councils to set their own fees at an appropriate level for their area, and enabling full cost recovery for their services need to be implemented quickly.”

On modernising planning committees:

“The Institute believes planning committees need modernisation and could include a national scheme of delegation, allowing planning officers to make some decisions themselves. Qualified planners should be able to implement agreed planning policy, freeing up councillors’ time to focus on the most challenging planning cases. This change would help to unblock many applications and speed up the planning process.”

“The RTPI will also be considering how our experiences running the Politicians in Planning network (PiPN) can inform any new training for politicians on planning committees. We will also examine how the hybrid or virtual planning committee models, which we successfully advocated for, can help to open up the planning process to a more diverse and inclusive range of people.”

On Nationally Significant Infrastructure Projects:

“We have repeatedly emphasised the importance of clearer, more spatial and up-to-date national infrastructure policy to speed up project delivery and clarify where projects should be delivered. This involves updating our National Infrastructure Strategy and requiring National Policy Statements to be reviewed at least every 5 years.”

On devolution:

“We have long called for metro mayors to have strategic planning powers. We welcome today’s announcements as an essential step in ensuring that the new housing developments are well located and well integrated with industrial strategy, to deliver the billions in economic growth that our research has shown is possible. We believe it will not only enhance cooperation across housing market areas and diminish local political obstacles, but provide certainty to investors.”