Or, as the Lindsay Richards, president of the RTPI says, it is not broken and instead planning is ‘not a blocker, we are an enabler’, (Planning, Alex King, 25 September).
It is a question I have pondered many times in recent years as the number of planning consultancies seems to grow and grow whilst many say trust in the planning amongst the general public is now low. Chris Curtis, MP has started a new debate on the question at the Labour Party conference in Liverpool by saying “…….some really interesting conservations with people from right across the sector, where we’re really now starting to understand the bugbears from the broken planning system and really interesting ways …..to fix them”.
House prices and rents are far too high. And there is plenty of undeveloped land.This is a shameful paradox, bad outcome and those responsible should hang their heads. But who are they? That it might happen in popular, high growth locations was obvious to some in those locations three decades ago! That there were growing conflicts between those locals opposed to local change, demonstrated by the frustrations of supply shortages for residential and commercial space in such locations was also obvious and flagged all those years ago. To suggest the planning system is an enabler faced by enduring failings on this scale seems odd. But equally it it is not right to blame planners.
Tempting but not altogether fair to place all the blame on nimbies. They have cleverly exploited a system for a generation which places power in the hands of local people whose fears are local fears and whose understanding of national needs is, quite fairly superficial at best..
Be that it it may, the planning system is broken. For the President, Lindsay Richards to say “We feel we have the tools we need,.We do need some planning reform, but we need a time of of stability. We do need a time of certainty , and we need those resources (so) our planners can do a proper job” leaves a feeling of disappointment. Yes, there is an acute shortage of planners. But is there a heartfelt appreciation of the damage being done year by year? It is unclear.
Perhaps the answer is to undo a top heavy planning system? And start again? Go back to 1947, and redesign spatial control from the bottom up?
Ian Campbell
25 September 2024
