At last, some joined-up thinking

HERE’S some rare good news on planning in the countryside. This month saw a groundbreaking event when the Royal Town Planning Institute (RTPI) and the Town and Country Planning Association (TCPA) actually joined forces to issue practical and definitive guidance to local authorities on the continuing threat from flooding and rising sea levels, as well as the other issues forced on us by a changing climate.

It really was a first, as these are two bodies that don’t often see eye to eye and have a history of conflict rather than co-operation. Getting the same advice from both is a welcome departure; getting it on so contentious a subject is little short of a miracle.

We need it desperately. All over the country, planning decisions are being made that take no proper account of the vulnerability of flood plains, the need for improved sea defences, the provision of renewable energy and charging points for electric vehicles, the national commitment to vastly increased tree planting and the growing concerns about land use and unsustainable development. Although this is only a first step, it will be updated regularly and there will no longer be any excuse for local councils not to know about the best practice and the successful decisions made by other planning authorities.

This service is particularly necessary because the planning system is close to breaking point. The simplest requests are taking longer and longer to resolve; the turnover in staff is chronic, so that in many councils it’s rare to meet the same officer twice and the details of the history of a planning application have to be rehearsed afresh on each occasion. Indeed, planners are an endangered species. Local-council cuts have borne down in a particularly damaging manner and many of the best officers have left for the private sector.

This exodus is, to some extent, inevitable, as developers look out for the highflyers and can give them pay and prospects far beyond the reach of a cash-strapped local government. However, what used to be a trickle has become a flood and many councils are relying on contract planners—often from Australia and New Zealand—to fill the gaps. The result is all too inevitable. The process takes longer, there’s less certainty in outcomes and the costs for even the smallest project rise continually.

At the same time, the Government’s plan-led system is in disarray, simply because there aren’t the resources needed to make the process work; the savings and certainties it was intended to create are beyond the grasp of many local authorities. It’s into this shaky construct that the RTPI/ TCPA guide has been inserted, with the hope that it will provide a standard to which every council in the country will aspire.

What it also does is give power to us, the customer. The RTPI and TCPA websites offer a continuous update of what ought to be the basis of planning decisions in every locality. This gives us an effective base to press the case for real change and better-informed decisions.

The increasingly chaotic character of the planning system has made it more difficult for local people to challenge damaging decisions and insist on the importance of longer-term strategy and sustainable growth. The imposition of housing on unsuitable sites in towns and villages with inadequate infrastructure is only one serious problem that mere Nimbyism will not stop.

Informed debate using this excellent material will give local people the tools to insist on planning decisions that safeguard the longterm future of their communities.

Getting the same advice on so contentious a subject is little short of a miracle