New London Architecture

The Reforms: An opportunity for planning to rediscover its purpose

Thursday 01 October 2020

Shaun Andrews

Director of UK Planning Strategy
Prior + Partners

This summer, the government laid out its much-anticipated planning overhaul – and it’s fair to say the response was varied. In the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government’s (MHCLG) ‘Planning for the Future’ consultation, proposals were positioned as “landmark reforms to speed up and modernise the planning system and get the country building”. 
 
As a planning professional with 25+ years under my belt, and as executive director of a consultancy deeply embedded in the system, I feel the government's intention has to be welcomed. The incumbent system is slow, bureaucratic and too frequently frustrated by political influence. I believe we should always be open to the potential for profound change, but only if this helps achieve better, fairer outcomes. 
 
In my view, it’s difficult to disagree with much of the high-level vision – and this is no ‘burning of the planning system’ as feared by some. In many ways, it’s actually quite an endorsement of planning and its central role to our most important national challenges. 
 
The proposals have the potential to accelerate the delivery of growth with some of the 'big' strategic decisions, notably agreeing the amount of growth at district level, being set by national government. This matter alone could significantly speed up the process and provide a clear framework for growth at the local level. However, as planners, we’re conscious that the 'devil is always in the detail'. Resourcing and funding the reformed system will continue to be the key challenge to better delivery.
 
In this thought piece, I delve into a few of the elements of the planning reforms which are close to our hearts at Nexus Planning
Climate & Health Resilience
 
Encouragingly, the planning reforms talk to putting climate change and health and wellbeing (resilience) at the forefront. Planning and health have historically been very close siblings but of recent times they have grown apart. This is an opportunity to put health (climate and human) back as a central purpose (perhaps thecentral purpose) for planning. 
 
This is a consultation document after all, but I would have liked to have seen the strength of this initial statement permeating more deeply than it does. There are numerous references to climate change but not much is new. There is very little direct reference to health. This is concerning at a time when the science linking poor health and the environment has never been clearer. 
 
The government says that it wants the reformed system to play a proactive role in promoting environmental recovery and long-term sustainability and positively in a revised NPPF which is due this autumn. Those with climate and health resilience at the forefront of their minds will be hoping that the NPPF delivers on what’s needed.
 
Design Guidance and Codes
 
I welcome the government’s drive to front-load the planning process, to have clear and more agile plans and to support schemes which comply with better local guidance around design and sustainability. Like many though, I struggle to see how guidance can be produced quickly and effectively which can successfully process the range of factors and parameters to enable great design. Perhaps it would be easier and more effective to clarify what does not represent good design in a specific location rather than what is?  
 
Also, how do resource starved Local Authorities go about this? It feels like a potentially monumental task requiring input and expertise from across the field. This doesn’t mean, however, that we shouldn’t try – as unfortunately there are still far too many examples of mediocre and bad designs. In a world where almost everything in design terms has been tried before, this is almost incomprehensible. I therefore can see a role for ‘pattern books’ that highlight some great examples across a range of development / locations typologies. 
 
Residential & strategic land 
 
The proposed front-loading of the planning process – with key issues relating to the allocation, delivery and design of strategic housing sites resolved as part of the Local Plan process and a streamlined process thereafter – must be welcomed. However, given the additional work involved in such a front-loaded process, there are questions around whether Local Planning Authorities and the Planning Inspectorate will realistically be able to meet the identified 30-month timescale.
 
The commitment to the 300,000 homes per annum national requirement, and to the production of a revised ‘standard method’ to achieve it, is important. So is the intent that this is binding on each local authority. This approach avoids the need for a legal ‘duty to cooperate’ – a system which has never operated as intended in the absence of more strategic planning. 
 
Retail & town centres
 
The focus of the reforms is undoubtedly on housing delivery and speeding up development. The objectives of bringing forward further residential development and other uses in and around town centres is welcomed, as is providing family housing close to amenities. Such development can help bring land back into active use and, crucially, provide additional footfall to support existing businesses. However, in respect of the potential implications of proposed changes on retail and town centre development, it is exceptionally light. 
 
In terms of the future consideration of new proposals for main town centre uses, the mechanism for identifying the scope of ‘specified appropriate uses’ will be vital in ensuring that the right types of development are brought forward in the right location. Whilst the government seeks to simplify the plan-making process (and reduce the volume of evidence-based documents), I envisage a continued need for the local planning authority and interested parties to carefully consider the scope for additional commercial development with reference to baseline data. This is important to ensure that our town centres accommodate a range of facilities and have the potential to support linked trips, thereby helping to provide for their resilience in light of ongoing and significant pressures and the general movement towards hyperlocalism.

About Nexus

Nexus Planning is an award-winning, independent consultancy operated and managed by Chartered Town Planners with offices in London, Manchester and Reading. Its highly skilled team of planning and regeneration consultants provides market-leading planning, regeneration and development advice to both the private and public sectors. Nexus was established in 2013 and won RTPI Planning Consultancy of the Year 2020 earlier this year. 


Shaun Andrews

Director of UK Planning Strategy
Prior + Partners


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