A report in Planning Resource by Alex King (13 February 2026) quotes the Conservative chair of the District Councils Network, responding to the new government consultation on the geographical areas that the spatial development strategies will cover, saying
“It defies common sense to exclude planning authorities, with their long standing local expertise and knowledge from a full role in strategic planning”.””
Cllr Wright’s obvious frustration is understandable, but his wish to be included is wrong on more than one level. His members represent those with local priorities. Drawing up a map of England to identify where new housing and infrastructure must go, in the national interest, ie. economic growth is a higher level priority and the role of the national government. There will be enough difficult decisions to make without introducing the inevitable conflicts of interest Councillor Richard Wright proposes.
He adds that the dangers of top-down decision-making is that it leads to local people being cut out from vitally important decisions. A brief glance at two generations of place planning being decided locally, without any sort of regional planning- unaffordable homes; widespread dislike of large sways of post WW2 new development; the distrust in the planning system, are brutal evidence of past policy failure. Cllr Wright wants this sort of muddled, inefficient and plainly unfair system to continue. He and his members need to recognise that housing policy failure is a fact. Repeating a broken system for another generation will not changes the facts. But will consign a large part of our children ‘s generation to static or worse living standards in the decades ahead.
Instead his members must find the ways and means to capture the growth to come. Unfortunately thinking about opportunities, not about threats is a mind-set that is rare in popular areas where growth potential exists. Amazing how many local leaders want to turn their backs on growth for their families futures, and cling onto the familiar and the failed. Most parts of the globe welcome local investment.
Ian Campbell
16 February 2026
