{"id":764101,"date":"2024-11-20T09:23:54","date_gmt":"2024-11-20T09:23:54","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.architectsjournal.co.uk\/?p=764101"},"modified":"2024-11-20T10:03:48","modified_gmt":"2024-11-20T10:03:48","slug":"four-ideas-to-fix-the-nations-broken-planning-system","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.architectsjournal.co.uk\/news\/four-ideas-to-fix-the-nations-broken-planning-system","title":{"rendered":"Four ideas to fix the nation\u2019s \u2018broken\u2019 planning system"},"content":{"rendered":"

Ask most architects if the planning system is in the worst state they can remember and the answer is an unequivocal \u2018yes\u2019. News stories are filled with tales about delays on decisions, backlogs of applications and arbitrary refusals. Meanwhile, planning officers in cash-strapped councils struggle to keep their heads above water.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

\u2018Planning departments are massively under-resourced, demoralised and ill-equipped,\u2019 says architect Russell Curtis, founding director of RCKa. \u2018That\u2019s the root of all the\u00a0problems.\u2019\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

The two most pressing problems \u2013 at least for the architects, developers and builders who rely on the system \u2013 are uncertain outcomes and increasingly lengthy timeframes.<\/p>\n

The percentage of major planning applications determined within official deadlines has slumped from 60 per cent in 2012 to just 20 per cent last year, Financial Times <\/i>data reveals.<\/p>\n

\u2018Under-resourcing of the planning system and policy uncertainty are preventing councils from making speedy, well-informed decisions,\u2019 warned the London Planning Alliance in a pre-budget letter to chancellor Rachel Reeves. The organisation claims this is restricting both housing delivery and the development of critical infrastructure.<\/p>\n

A survey revealed that a fifth of practices had abandoned projects because of delays in processing applications<\/p><\/blockquote>\n

Unsurprisingly, the frustration of architecture firms is becoming ever more acute. A recent RIBA survey revealed that 42 per cent of practices had experienced planning delays of more than six months, and a fifth of practices had abandoned projects because of delays in processing applications.<\/p>\n

South London-based Dowen Farmer Architects<\/a> has experienced this frustration first-hand. Earlier this month the practice, with the aid of consultant Maddox Planning, secured approval for a project that had spent three years in the planning system: the conversion of derelict outbuildings on a listed estate near Norwich for residential use. <\/span>Director James Dowen says the long determination period of the Weston Hall scheme was \u2018mainly due to nutrient neutrality [rules]\u2019.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

\"\"

Dowen Farmer Architects\u2019 Weston Hall scheme recently secured planning consent after three years<\/p>\n\t

Source:DFA\/Blackpoint Design<\/p><\/div>\n

Its eventual planning success, he remarks, was \u2018somewhat diluted by the painful process\u2019 and the \u2018plentiful\u2019 costs incurred by the client and project team.<\/p>\n

The backlog is causing practices to suffer financially too. Make Architects, in its latest accounts, singled out held-up planning decisions as contributing to the company\u2019s \u00a31.46 million loss in 2023.<\/p>\n

What\u2019s more, according to the Home Builders Federation, more than 90 per cent of small-to-medium-sized housebuilders blame \u2018chronic delays\u2019 in the planning system for suppressing their growth. The organisation claims planning issues have \u2018severely impeded SMEs\u2019 ability to deliver much-needed housing\u00a0stock\u2019.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Given this bleak landscape, the critical condition of the planning system appears increasingly at odds with the government\u2019s ambitions to \u2018get Britain building again\u2019.<\/p>\n

To enable the housing and infrastructure it promises, the government says an overhaul of planning rules will be necessary<\/p><\/blockquote>\n

In last month\u2019s Budget, the chancellor reiterated plans to heavily invest in new development and infrastructure.\u00a0<\/span>Along with highly anticipated pledges to secure HS2\u2019s embattled London link and to fund \u2018crumbling schools\u2019, Reeves announced a cash injection of \u00a35 billion towards the government\u2019s target of 1.5 million homes \u2013 including \u00a33.1\u00a0billion for affordable homes \u2013 and promised extra resourcing to help councils hit their mandatory housing\u00a0targets.<\/p>\n

To help unlock the post-war levels of housing and infrastructure it promises, the government argues that an overhaul of planning rules will be necessary.<\/p>\n

Planning reforms already in the pipeline include its flagship Planning and Infrastructure Bill, due to be introduced early next year. Among other things, the bill promises to streamline delivery of major infrastructure projects, modernise planning committees, and strengthen councils\u2019 powers to buy land for affordable housing.<\/p>\n

Meanwhile, consultations on proposals for a major reworking of the National Planning Policy Framework (NPPF) closed in\u00a0September.\u00a0<\/span>Headline proposals include slackening rules on green-belt development, increasing funding for local authorities and creating new rules for the rapid delivery of \u2018nationally significant infrastructure projects\u2019 (NSIPs), as well as advocating for a National Model Design Code. The government has also rowed back on the previous administration\u2019s decision to water down housing\u00a0targets.<\/p>\n

Some specific funding pots have already been pledged, including \u00a313.5 million to establish a planning \u2018super squad\u2019 to support large-scale development projects, and \u00a324 million to \u2018clear planning backlogs and get the right skills in place\u2019.<\/p>\n

Most recently, the Ministry of Housing Communities and Local Government (MHCLG) promised \u00a347 million to \u2018unlock up to 28,000 homes stalled due to nutrient neutrality rules\u2019.<\/p>\n

Yet while the industry welcomes these changes, it must wait to see if they receive the continued financial backing they will need. And, with many of the finer details yet to emerge, questions remain about whether the changes will be the right ones to make a significant long-term difference.<\/p>\n

\u2018Reform is certainly needed in the planning system,\u2019 says architect Jas Bhalla, founder of Jas Bhalla Works, who began his career at the Bartlett School of Planning. But, he says, primarily the system \u2018needs more money\u2019.<\/p>\n

And, while more cash for local authorities is widely regarded as a priority, Bhalla does not believe a disruptive, root and branch overhaul of the current planning system is necessary.\u00a0Instead he suggests an approach more akin to acupuncture \u2013 and maybe \u2018some surgery\u2019 \u2013 to help it perform at the required pace. In other words, targeted solutions for specific problems.<\/p>\n

So, aside from the government\u2019s big-ticket pledges, in what ways can the planning system be improved in the short term? The AJ picked out four planning problems and asked industry experts how they could be resolved.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Target resources at local plan-making<\/b><\/p>\n

Local plans offer certainty to developers and officers. So the widespread lack of current documents is a huge thorn in the side for those on both sides of the planning fence.<\/p>\n

\u2018People assume that planning systems are up to date, but not every local authority has an up-to-date local plan,\u2019 explains Harriet Fisher, a Sheffield planner and chartered member of the Royal Town Planning Institute (RTPI).<\/p>\n

A prototype and evolving government list confirms her point. Local plan statuses across the country still vary significantly from \u2018emerging\u2019 to \u2018adopted\u2019, despite being mandatory under the NPPF.<\/p>\n

Fisher also leads the associate development course and brand new short-course CPDs for Public Practice, which places built-environment professionals in local planning\u00a0departments.\u00a0<\/span>She says authorities with no local plan are swamped with individual projects \u2018which would otherwise just be waved\u00a0through\u2019.<\/p>\n

Planning officers are then faced with a double-edged sword of unsurmountable caseloads, and a \u2018policy vacuum\u2019 in which to handle them.<\/p>\n

Experts say the planning system can only operate efficiently if local authorities have a vision and framework to provide a remit for \u2018principle of development\u2019 \u2013 namely rules to make confident decisions without uncertainty, delay or\u00a0debate.<\/p>\n

The lack of consistency in local plans is leading to \u2018unregulated and slow development\u2019, explains Enfield Council urban design lead Michael Kennedy.\u00a0He tells the AJ that \u2018ongoing financial support\u2019 and resources will need to be targeted at \u2018strategic planning\u2019, adding: \u2018The government has an aspiration to increase the speed of plan production which can only be achieved through increasing the capacity of local authorities.\u2019<\/p>\n

When local plans are in place, everyone benefits, Kennedy explains. \u2018At Enfield, as we have developed our new local plan, we have already been able to bring forward better projects faster and with less uncertainty.\u2019<\/p>\n

The government is aware of the issue. It clearly states in its NPPF proposals that it expects \u2018universal coverage\u2019 of local plans, and for plans to therefore be progressed ambitiously and \u2018without delay\u2019.\u00a0It equally acknowledges the \u2018barriers to progress\u2019 faced by plan-makers in recent years, and has committed to supporting local planning authorities in \u2018getting plans in place\u2019.<\/p>\n

As of October 31, MHCLG says local planning authorities with no local plan can claim \u00a320,000 funding pots to help towards \u2018costs they incur\u2019 in making one. But other specific measures are yet to emerge.<\/p>\n

Don\u2019t just hire planners, hire them strategically<\/b><\/p>\n

Capacity problems are leaving planning teams across the country in crisis.\u00a0A September survey by Public Practice revealed that an estimated 10 per cent of posts are vacant, existing recruitment processes \u2018remain slow and ineffective\u2019 and more than half of planning and placemaking professionals lack capacity \u2018to meet strategic goals beyond their minimum statutory responsibilities\u2019.<\/p>\n

Worryingly, of the 420 planning professionals surveyed, 20 per cent said they planned to leave the public sector and 7 per cent planned to retire in the next two\u00a0years.<\/p>\n

To help plug the gaps, the new government has pledged to recruit 300 new town planners into the public sector by 2026.\u00a0But cynics fear this number will barely scratch the surface, amounting to less than one new planner per local authority across the UK, and representing \u2018less than a 10th\u2019 of the planners who left public service between 2010 and 2020 (around 3,100 in total, according to the Financial\u00a0Times<\/i>).<\/p>\n

It also doesn\u2019t address the skills issue. More than 70 per cent of planning professionals have reported \u2018difficulty attracting qualified and skilled candidates\u2019 to their teams for three consecutive years, according to Public Practice.<\/p>\n

Pooja Agrawal, the organisation\u2019s chief executive, says the government\u2019s hiring drive can only be effective if it is also strategic.<\/p>\n

She told the AJ: \u2018It would be a shame if these 300 planners were all recruited at entry level and solely working within a more traditional development management process. To truly achieve the ambitious housing target of 1.5 million homes to a high quality, we need more senior-level people with masterplanning skills, delivery experience, and low-carbon technical\u00a0knowledge.\u2019<\/p>\n

Agrawal said architects would be \u2018well placed\u2019 to be part of the 300 planners solution since \u2018the move back to strategic planning [will require their] softer skills, such as communication, negotiation and collaboration\u2019.<\/p>\n

But unlike some, Agrawal is not worried about the ability to recruit. \u2018For me, the larger question is how these roles are going to be funded, given the dire situation local government finances are in,\u2019 she says.<\/p>\n

Make the default answer \u2018yes\u2019 for smaller developments<\/b><\/p>\n

Most architecture firms are familiar with the trials of securing planning approval on small urban sites.\u00a0While the principle of development is \u2018not really an issue\u2019 on most large brownfield sites, says Bhalla, the culture of development management at a zero to nine home scale means \u2018\u201cno\u201d seems to be the default starting position.\u2019<\/p>\n

Both Bhalla and Curtis believe this planning culture is stifling innovation and the optimisation of development on small sites with strong public transport links \u2013 and must change in order to \u2018unlock\u2019 housing opportunities.<\/p>\n

In an April blog post, Curtis highlighted how a \u2018modest increase\u2019 in density of around 25 per cent more homes in areas within 800m of a station could achieve a \u2018net increase of some 900,000 homes\u2019 across London.<\/p>\n

Key to achieving this feat, he insists, is a \u2018progressive\u2019 local planning policy. He cites Croydon\u2019s short-lived Suburban Intensification SPD (2018-2022), which resulted in a \u2018remarkable uptick in small-site development across the borough\u2019, delivering around 2,000 homes on sites of fewer than 10 homes during the time it was in place.<\/p>\n

\u2018Fundamentally, what we need is more certainty for smaller developers,\u2019 says Curtis.\u00a0But he says small-site planning rules should be set at a national level, rather than locally, where \u2018intensification policies have been kicked about by politicians\u2019.<\/p>\n

He explains: \u2018This top-down leadership on small sites policy could help to provide clarity for the UK\u2019s floundering SME developers by making outcomes more predictable and eliminating arbitrary and politically-motivated decision-making.\u2019<\/p>\n

\"\"

Hillyard Mews, south London, by SOUP Architects was initially rejected on the grounds of overdevelopment<\/p>\n\t

<\/p><\/p><\/div>\n

North London-based SOUP Architects<\/a> believes that if a presumption in favour of small-site developments of one to nine homes were written into the NPPF, it could be a game-changer. The practice\u2019s Hillyard Mews project (pictured above<\/i>) \u2013 featuring two new homes on a disused backland site in London \u2013 was eventually granted consent in August after being initially rejected on the grounds of overdevelopment following numerous objections from\u00a0neighbours.<\/p>\n

But the practice believes a pro-residential presumption would \u2018have probably reduced a lot of local opposition\u2019 to the scheme, and saved significant\u00a0time.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Boost planners\u2019 confidence\u00a0<\/span><\/b><\/p>\n

A quick look at headlines about planning in recent years \u2013 from \u2018Our corrupt planning system needs rebuilding\u2019 (The Times<\/i>, July 2024), to \u201810 Things I Hate About the UK Planning System\u2019 (BuildIt<\/i>, 2020) \u2013 shows how poorly the planning profession is perceived.<\/p>\n

Online \u2018harassment and abuse\u2019 of planners is one of the main issues facing the profession, the RTPI reported last year, with nearly a quarter of planners either \u2018regularly\u2019 or \u2018occasionally\u2019 targeted on social media because of their role. It\u2019s no wonder they feel browbeaten.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Bartlett professor of housing and planning Nick\u00a0Gallent insists\u00a0planners need their confidence restored to navigate the planning system with conviction. And he says fixing the narrative needs to come from the top.<\/p>\n

\u2018The undermining of planning and planners has been at a governmental level\u2019, he says, from David Cameron\u2019s rhetoric of \u2018getting the planners off our backs\u2019 in 2012, to Boris Johnson\u2019s insistence in 2020 that the planning system \u2018wastes time and taxpayers\u2019 money\u2019.<\/p>\n

This unconstructive stance is in stark contrast to other countries, says Gallent. \u2018In China, planners are rockstars. They are acknowledged to be instrumental in co-ordinating development and unlocking the land finance needed to support world-leading infrastructure, including a recent expansion of high-speed rail around Shanghai.\u2019<\/p>\n

Gallent says the UK government should take stock with its own messaging. \u2018Planners need to feel confident within this growth agenda that they are actively playing a part in delivering growth, in delivering prosperity in their communities,\u2019 he says.<\/p>\n

Once new policy is bedded\u00a0in, providing a \u2018positive vision\u2019 will help create the long-term stability that the planning system needs to support development, says Gallent.<\/p>\n

\u2018Housebuilders want clarity\u2019, he adds. \u2018If they have to, they will get in the barristers and appeal everything. But good planning could save a lot of that, and save a lot of money.\u2019<\/p>\n

\n

Abigail Patel
\n<\/span><\/b><\/span>Strategy planner at Lake District National Park Authority, Cumbria, where she leads on the Windermere Gateway programme (Public Practice class of 2022)<\/em>\"\"<\/em><\/p>\n

What one change to planning policy would you like to see at a government level?<\/b> I\u2019d like to see more recognition of the positive role that planning can play in supporting economic growth and placemaking \u2013 and the significance that it can have in creating inspirational places where people want to live, work and play. Understanding place and what is important for our local communities is a huge part of what we do in strategic planning, and it would be great to see opportunities for influencing plans at a more local level.<\/span><\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n<\/div>\n

\n

Michael Kennedy
\n<\/b><\/span>Urban design lead at Enfield Council, London, where he leads the urban design and heritage team (Public Practice class of 2019)<\/em>\"\"<\/em><\/p>\n

What one change to planning policy would you like to see at a government level? <\/b>A bigger investment in strategic planning. Many local authorities do not have up-to-date development plans, leading to an unregulated and slow development environment. Investing in councils\u2019 abilities to be propositional for their area will help create more coherent and well-designed places. At Enfield, as we have developed our new local plan, we have been able to bring forward better projects faster and with less uncertainty. Architects, as professionals with a visionary, propositional skillset, are well placed to be part of this.<\/span><\/p>\n<\/div>\n

\n

Shade Abdul
\n<\/span><\/b><\/span>A principal planner in the planning policy team at Luton Council, east England, where she is helping to prepare the new local plan (Public Practice class of 2024)\u00a0<\/span><\/em>\"\"<\/em><\/p>\n

What one change to planning policy would you like to see at a government level?<\/b> In some places the type of housing that is delivered does not reflect the local housing need. There are different reasons for this but one key reason within the planning system relates to policies around viability assessments. These allow developers to reduce their planning obligations for delivering affordable housing, infrastructure and other public goods through Section 106 agreements and the Community Infrastructure Levy. I would like to see either changes to viability assessment policies or changes to how genuinely affordable housing and public goods are funded.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

 <\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Ask most architects if the planning system is in the worst state they can remember and the answer is an unequivocal \u2018yes\u2019. News stories are filled with tales about delays on decisions, backlogs of applications and arbitrary refusals. Meanwhile, planning officers in cash-strapped councils struggle to keep their heads above water.\u00a0 \u2018Planning departments are massively …<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":138919,"featured_media":764983,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_oasis_is_in_workflow":0,"_oasis_original":0,"ep_exclude_from_search":false},"categories":[681],"tags":[5610,1489,86814,3860,3836],"yoast_head":"\nFour ideas to fix the nation\u2019s \u2018broken\u2019 planning system<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"Plagued by backlogs, delays and uncertainty, what can be done to mend the UK\u2019s planning system? 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