A report commissioned by RTPI has found that planning reform and increased housing development in the UK could miss out on over £70bn in additional value by not investing in planning
The Public First report suggests that without investment, UK housing development may miss out on a planning premium, which is essential for creating safe communities.
This premium could provide an additional value of just under £50bn over a ten-year period.
Utilising planning to deliver new housing could also lead to productivity growth worth £23bn over ten years, bringing the total loss to over £70bn.
The UK’s political parties have outlined ambitious housing targets
The RTPI believes that well-resourced planning can boost UK housing developments to help reach these goals.
Planning can also impact the economic, social, and environmental needs of the UK’s towns, cities, and countryside.
Victoria Hills, chief executive of the RTPI, said: “This report comes at a time when home-building needs to accelerate rapidly to address the housing affordability crisis. It shows us the true value of planning when done well, and how it can deliver not just the housing the UK desperately needs but provide value for money and quality of life to communities.”
Public sector planning is in a dire state
Despite planning’s potential, previous RTPI research revealed a 16% reduction in public spending on planning since 2009.
Planners are overworked and understaffed as a result.
Last year, the RTPI reported that from 2013 to 2020, a quarter of planners left the public sector.
Ed Dorrell, partner at Public First, said: “This report demonstrates that there is nothing wrong with planning. Far from it. Used strategically, planning and planners can help the country build new places – and new homes – at a volume and at a quality that people need and want.
“Planners, when they are emboldened and enabled, can support the delivery of the kind of dense, mixed use, well-connected communities that people will want to live in, and, in-so-doing, also drive up productivity in the way that the country so desperately needs.
“Our work demonstrates that far from being part of the problem, planners can be part of the solution.”
