The National Planning Policy Framework must be spatial
20-May-11
Today’s (20 May) publication of the independent advisory group’s draft of the National Planning Policy Framework (NPPF) is a landmark step towards a national planning framework for England but it misses that planning must be spatial to be effective.
Royal Town Planning Institute (RTPI) President Richard Summers said:
“The RTPI has long campaigned for a national planning framework for England but the NPPF must be spatial to be effective. National planning must show the geography of planned activities, development and infrastructure and how the Government’s policies and land use designations apply to different parts of the country.”
He added: “The RTPI is seriously concerned about the way in which the presumption in favour of sustainable development is expressed in their draft NPPF. It is a denial of the concept of sustainable development to give over-riding emphasis to the approval of development proposals without ensuring that that they are economically, socially and environmentally sustainable.”
The group of four practitioners has faced a very significant challenge in trying to summarise existing planning policy in a way that balances the need for economic growth with the need to address climate change and other environmental and community issues.
Their draft NPPF has failed to meet the essential requirement to address the different needs and opportunities of different parts of the country or to incorporate the Government’s existing spatial policies such as rebalancing the economy and developing High Speed Rail 2. The opportunity should be now seized to start an open and meaningful debate about how different areas of the country can help enable economic growth, community progress and environmental conservation.
The RTPI will be looking carefully at their draft NPPF in coming weeks and will make further detailed comments.
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RTPI is a charity registered in England 262865 and Scotland SC 03784
- Author:
- james butler
- Publisher:
- The Royal Town Planning Institute
- Date:
- 20-May-11
- Categories:
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