A RTPI survey has found that the private sector has seen an 80% increase in employed planners, whilst one in four public sector planners have left the industry
A quarter of planners left the public sector between 2013 and 2020, according to an analysis from the Royal Town Planning Institute (RTPI).
Key issues identified in the latest update to the RTPI’s Interim State of the Profession 2023 include budget constraints, difficulty hiring and retaining public sector planners and an increased political profile as negatively affecting planning in the UK.
Not enough staff to handle an ‘unmanageable’ workload
The private sector reported an 80% increase in the number of employed planners.
There are around 22,000 planners in the UK in total, but Local Planning Authorities (LPAs) have seen a significant decrease in numbers over the last decade.
82% of local authority planners said their employer had difficulties hiring planners in the last 12 months and only 8% of job postings for “Town Planning Officers” published between 2016 and 2021 were for public sector roles.
68% of LPAs see competitive salaries as a key difficulty for local authorities.
The loss of public sector planners will only worsen the lack of affordable housing
Sue Bridge, president of the Royal Town Planning Institute, said: “Budget reductions in local authorities and other public sector agencies are leading to unmanageable workloads, insufficient staff, and overstretched workers.
“Without a sufficient arsenal of qualified, well-resourced planners, Local Planning Authorities are unable to deliver the affordable homes, public services and critical infrastructure individuals, families, and communities need and which are so vital to our economy.”
Understanding the impact of planning’s raised political profile
Victoria Hills, chief executive of the Royal Town Planning Institute said: “The planning profession faces challenges to its public image. Political narratives on both left and right frame it as a barrier to the solution to the unfolding housing crisis.
Previous research by the RTPI found that almost 90% of local authorities reported a backlog of planning enforcement cases, with 80% of respondents saying there simply weren’t enough officers to carry out the workload.
The continued exodus of public sector planners will have only compounded these issues.
“There are calls for ‘planning reform’ on the national level and widespread abuse and mistreatment of planners at the local level. It comes at a detriment to the mental health and working conditions of planners.”
Social media has been identified as a key source of misinformation on local planning issues and has even led to harrassment, with a quarter of planners reporting they have been targeted online.
Planning reforms have been insufficient so far
Planning reform has become a key issue for political parties on both sides in recent years as the housing crisis continues, but proposed reforms such as changes to the National Planning Policy Framework (NPPF) have fallen short in the RTPI’s eyes.
Whilst some claim that stripping back council planning policy will enable faster delivery of housing, concerns have been raised that long-term economic prosperity and sustainability is being sacrificed in favour of quick fixes.
Sue Bridge continued: “More must be done to provide adequate resourcing to the planning system. While increased planning fees would be an important first step, we do not see them as a silver bullet to meeting the capacity requirements.”
You can read more about issues affecting private and public sector planners here.
