The Royal Town Planning Institute have released their consultation response to the National Planning Policy Framework (NPPF), arguing that councils will be stripped of policy tools necessary to deliver housing and infrastructure development
Immediate changes to the National Planning Policy Framework (NPPF) would allow Government to progress with planning reform at the expense of levelling up communities, according to the Royal Town Planning Institute (RTPI).
Within its consultation response to the NPPF, the Institute warned that changes will further reduce the amount of homes and infrastructure delivered across England as they fundamentally upset the checks and balances that underpin the planning system.
Drawing on opinions gathered from members across 16 mainly in-person roundtables in each region of England, the Institute stated that further measures to improve policy will be critical, not just to protect nature but also to create green jobs and sustainable economic growth.
Key concerns from the consultation response include:
- The amount of homes and infrastructure delivered across England will be reduced because the checks and balances that underpin the planning system will have been upset. If implemented, residents in many areas will lose confidence in the security and accountability of the planning process.
- Planners are facing increasing incompatible policy goals. This places further pressure on local planning authorities facing existing resource constraints and decreases the chances of successfully delivering levelling up and place-making activity.
- The RTPI have found described the NPPF planning reforms approach to net zero as “an afterthought”, desperately falling short of urgent action needed. Future policy must protect natural enviroments and bolster the creation of sustainable industries in order to achieve sustainable economic growth.
- Aims outlined in the National Development Management Policies are acceptable in principle, but the RTPI is calling for assurances that the new policy framework will be limited in scope. It is important to protect development viability and encourage innovation, offering a floor – rather than a ceiling – to standards on climate change and other national priorities.
With many plans and projects now on hold, the RTPI has expressed concerns and will be following future consultations closely on planning reforms and the progress of the Levelling Up and Regeneration Bill as these will show “if Ministers are listening to planner’s advice or making their decisions privately before consulting others”.
Deregulation is not the same as de-complicating planning
Victoria Hills, chief executive of the Royal Town Planning Institute, said: “We can be in no doubt that the changes to national planning policy proposed in this consultation would profoundly impact plans and projects for housing, infrastructure, and amenities that communities and businesses need to thrive.
“Public confidence in England’s planning system is at an all-time low. Our members agree that change is needed but we’re concerned that the proposed NPPF will not deliver the homes, infrastructure and regeneration communities that were promised, and need, to level them up.”
Richard Blyth, head of policy and research at the Royal Town Planning Institute, said: “It is reasonable to favour local consent for plans and projects over abstract targets. But in the absence of effective checks and balances, these changes would leave communities and businesses with few guarantees that their needs will be considered, and less certainty that land will be made available where necessary to make places sustainable.”
