In an open letter to the construction industry, Victoria Hills, Chief Executive of the Royal Town Planning Institute (RTPI), says dismantling the planning system will lead to failure of the ‘build, build, build’ agenda.
The RTPI has launched its ‘Plan The World We Need’ campaign to ensure that planners are at the centre of a sustainable, resilient and inclusive recovery post-COVID-19. “We must plan, plan, plan the communities we live in,” said Victoria Hills. “The coronavirus pandemic has highlighted the huge inequalities in our society and laid bare the profound effect that a decade of austerity has had on local authorities and some of our poorest communities.
“Planners ensure communities are involved in decisions that directly affect them. They make sure that communities have easy access to open green spaces and public transport links. They are our best hope in the drive to make sure carbon-free material is used to build houses, and energy efficient systems are installed. With limited social housing grants, planners are also a key to ensuring affordable housing is part of any development.
“The delays in the planning system are nothing to do with either newts or planners. Housing charity Shelter said 280,000 home were given planning permission in England between 2011 and 2016 but were never built. In 2017-18 382,997 applications were granted – more than enough to meet the government’s target of 300,000 new homes a year.
“Our Plan The World We Need campaign calls on the government to harness the expertise of planners to ensure a holistic approach. Housing is a key issue, yes, but priority must also be given to decarbonisation and climate resilience, design and beauty, connectivity and accessibility, wellbeing and public health, as well as economic growth.
Sweeping away the planning system is not the answer. Planners are not a barrier, they are a facilitator of healthy, happy sustainable communities. That is not to say that efficiencies and improvements cannot be made – the RTPI believes that technology should be harnessed to foster more efficient and inclusive planning, all planning documents should be machine-readable, terminology and processes across government should be standardised and investment in open source tools should be made.
We welcome increased funding in infrastructure and affordable housing, to which should be added a major grants programme to stimulate housebuilding by councils and housing associations. We also recommend that chief planning officers become a statutory position to enable better co-ordination of this investment.
A decade of austerity has stripped bare planning departments across the land leaving them under-resourced and overwhelmed. I caution the government to consider very carefully the contents of its forthcoming Policy Paper and to remember that failing to plan is planning to fail. Let’s address 21st century issues together with long-term strategic planning to integrate economic, infrastructure and environmental priorities. Let’s plan the world we need and build back better for the benefit of all.
To read the letter in full visit: www.rtpi.org.uk
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