New research from the Royal Town Planning Institute shows nearly 9 out of 10 planners believe social media is fuelling local planning misinformation, with some facing insults, harassment and even violent threats as a result. RTPI president Sue Bridge takes a look at a growing problem
Social media can be an important tool for planners. Online, we can speak directly to the communities we represent. Not only does it help us raise community awareness around the benefits of local planning decisions but allows us to hear the opinions of those who may not write to their local planning department. But all too often we are seeing a different, more sinister impact of social media, with the spread of misinformation bleeding into public opinion without recourse.
At the start of the year, before the Clarkson’s Farm or 15 Minute Cities controversies, the Royal Town Planning Institute’s (RTPI) members’ magazine launched its annual careers survey to take the pulse of the entire planning profession. The survey found that 87% of planners feel social media is fuelling misinformation about local planning issues.
For many, misinformation on planning issues begins on local Facebook groups and pages, highlighted by survey respondents as some of the worst culprits for spreading misinformation about planning applications. This can range from misunderstanding Low Emissions Zones to claims that planning officers are taking bribes.
One respondent told us campaign groups, through Facebook, often stoke opposition to planning applications but rarely, if ever, give people the actual facts about an application.
“These are then shared and shared with the vast majority of people never actually looking at the application properly,” the respondent wrote.
Insults, harassment and threat
Though this may have sounded harmless a decade ago, today, we know that it is anything but. Planners are struggling to challenge the myths of corruption within local planning officer teams, and it is leading to an exacerbation of insults, harassment and violent threats. Some 41% of respondents from Local Planning Authorities (LPAs) said social media had had an effect on their wellbeing.
“It harms the reputation of the planning service, and more and more online attacks are being directed against individual officers,” one respondent said. “That does no one’s mental health any good.”
We were shocked to learn that 23% of planners said they have regularly or occasionally been targeted through social media because of their role. A further 20% said they had been targeted, but rarely. Respondents explained that they have received aggressive phone calls and emails due to what they have read online. Some stated that harassment online has pushed them out of the public sector – or forced those moving into the public sector to delete their social media accounts in advance.
Putting the system under strain
Working within these conditions is taking its toll on the profession, which is struggling to recruit and retain staff. In January, RTPI’s Cymru’s Big Conversation report found that three-quarters of LPA officers in Wales feel overstretched in their work, with the majority of respondents reporting an increase in their workload and remit in the past two years. There were several recent cases highlighted in the report where no candidates applied for job posts in the profession. Furthermore, around 10% of respondents to the Big Conversation survey were looking to move out of planning. That figure goes up to 15% of LPA respondents.
Planning is not just a ‘tick box’ exercise; it is a profession that plays a crucial role in addressing climate and biodiversity emergencies, economic development and in supporting communities. However, it is widely recognised that LPAs, along with the wider public sector, are struggling to meet expectations and unlock the value planning has to offer.
The surveys suggest that misinformation often begins with a lack of understanding of the planning system from outside of the profession. Planners must demonstrate to residents that planning decisions are not done to them, but with and for them. I believe that, if we can achieve this through positive messaging, we can begin to see planners receive the respect that they deserve.
