In a briefing to MPs in advance of the Report Stage of the Localism Bill this week the Royal Town Planning Institute (RTPI) has highlighted four issues that still need to be resolved in order to improve the Bill further. Greg Clark MP, the note highlights, has shown a willingness to work with stakeholders to make the Bill a better piece of legislation and the RTPI urges that he continues to listen and respond to concerns that remain.

The RTPI is calling for support for the Government amended Clause 90 which will strengthen planning at the larger-than-local level through an enhanced duty to cooperate. It also highlights that the arrangements for neighbourhood planning are still far too complex and believes that the National Planning Policy Framework (NPPF) will not be effective unless it is embodied in statute in the Bill.

Last week the RTPI called on the Government to think again about its new Clause 15 which would give weight to financial considerations in planning applications and mean that money from the New Homes Bonus could outweigh other factors, such as the views of the local community and environmental, social and wider economic concerns.

Royal Town Planning Institute President (RTPI), Richard Summers said:

“We congratulate the Government on strengthening the duty to cooperate but believe other parts of the Localism Bill could still be improved. Further changes are needed if some of the key aims of the Bill are to be realised such as enabling communities to develop their vision for the future of their area through neighbourhood plans, to enable priorities for investment to be decided at both the local and national levels and to tackle the challenges of climate change, sustainable economic growth and social inequity."

The key issues are:

1. Duty to cooperate.
The RTPI has worked closely with the Government on strengthening the arrangements for planning at the larger-than-local level and believes that the amended Clause 90 should be supported. Greg Clark is to be congratulated for listening on this issue.

2. Neighbourhood Planning.
The proposed neighbourhood planning system remains overly complex and this may mean that neighbourhood planning will not be as visionary, inclusive, widespread or effective as intended. Government amendments still do not deal with many of the key issues.

3. National Planning Policy Framework (NPPF).
The NPPF is expected to propose fundamentally significant strategic policies that will affect local and neighbourhood planning and it therefore needs to be on the face of the Bill if it is to be effective.

4. New clause 15: financial considerations as a ‘material consideration’.
The Government’s new amendment to make financial considerations a material consideration is deeply flawed and potentially very damaging to proper planning and it contradicts assurances given by ministers just 12 weeks ago. The RTPI is calling for the amendment to be withdrawn.

The RTPI also has a number of other concerns about the Bill and these will be dealt with when the Bill enters the House of Lords.  They include provisions in the Bill relating to local planning, pre-application consultation and planning enforcement.  They also relate to some of the others proposals not in the ‘planning’ related sections of the Bill, such as pre-determination, right to challenge community assets and referendums that have the potential to have an adverse impact on effective planning.

The RTPI’s full briefing is published here.

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Author:

james butler

Publisher:

The Royal Town Planning Institute

Date:

16-May-11

Categories:

 

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