The government has recast planning into a very different system to the one that was in place when it took office in May 2010. Out goes thousands of pages of guidance, regional strategies and the Infrastructure Planning Commission. In comes the National Planning Policy Framework and National Planning Practice Guidance website, neighbourhood planning, and relaxations on permitted development rights. The scale of these changes has attracted significant debate; rarely has planning been such mainstream news.
The government says that this new system will facilitate more house building and investment, while protecting environmental assets and nurturing communities.
But can it? Local planning authorities are on the frontline of the new system, in a role that requires them to juggle more involvement of local people in decision making with government pressure to ratchet up house building. Neighbourhood planning is flourishing in some areas, but tensions are emerging via local plan inspections and appeals around whether LPAs are planning to provide enough housing.
This webinar will sketch out the reformed planning system, and take stock of how it is influencing practice and shaping places. Are there advantages to this new system, and what are the unintended consequences and emerging tensions?
