PIPA - the Politicians in Planning Network
Wecome to the homepage of the Politicians in Planning Network (known as PIPA). The Network aims to influence planning policies and to press decision-makers to address current planning-related issues effectively. Members of PIPA play an important part in developing policy, knowledge and good practice.
The Annual Report 2011 for PIPA is now available
PIPA CONFERENCE 2011 – NOVEMBER, BRISTOL
Local planning Councillors at all levels from Parish to County joined the 2011 Conference which had the very topical theme ‘Delivering Sustainable Growth’. The Conference was welcomed to Bristol by Cllr Anthony Negus (pictured to the left of the Question Time panel group with RTPI President & Conference Chair Richard Summers, centre, and Kelvin MacDonald, Policy Adviser to the RTPI, right). Kelvin MacDonald alongside Nicky Linihan from NJL-Solutions & Cllr Mike Haines from the Local Government Association unpicked what the planning reforms mean for local authorities and local growth and all participated in a Question Time session. There were significant concerns expressed by delegates about how a suitable balance between social, economic and environmental factors might be achievable within the constraints under which local authorities must operate. But equally there was a determination that local planning leadership would not be found wanting.
There were both plenary and break-out sessions with delegates being able to choose from over a dozen of the latter. PIPA's best-received speaker over the last two Conferences, Cristina Howick (from Roger Tym & Partners), looked closely at the ‘presumption in favour of sustainable development’ included in the draft National Planning Policy Framework. Rynd Smith from the Planning Inspectorate considered the Localism Bill implications for Local Plans in some detail and Robin Hambleton from the University of the West of England considered the leadership role of Councillors in delivering localism. Other Conference strands covered Neighbourhood Planning, Planning Delivery & Sustainable Planning. The presentations from the Conference can be viewed here (most uploads are now complete, large files may take a while to download).
Initial feedback from delegates has been very positive with 100% of those completing the feedback sheet indicating that they felt the Conference organisation was either 'excellent' or 'good'.
It is appreciated that this Conference was confined to English issues. We do not at this time have funding for Conferences in in Northern Ireland, Scotland & Wales – but the RTPI offers a number of relevant local events annually. We have previously held a national Conference in Scotland and we will continue to look for helpful opportunities for events beyond England.
Who is PIPA for?
- Members of the UK or Scottish Parliaments and the Welsh or Northern Ireland Assemblies
- Members and board members of the Regional Assemblies and the Greater London Authority
- Convenors and Portfolio Holders for planning in local authorities
- Local authority committee members and councillors
- Board members of Regeneration and Development Partnerships
- Board members of voluntary organisations serving communities
- Town, community and parish council members
- Members of local Civic and Development Trusts
- Local authority-employed and independent RTPI members
- Others engaged with spatial planning.
FEBRUARY
Designing Resilient Places
Date: Monday 27th February
Time: 4:30 to 6:30 pm
Location: RTPI Offices, 41 Botolph Lane, London EC3
In April under the auspices of the Building Research Establishment (BRE) a practical guide to testing the resilience of urban design against a range of future scenarios will be published. The Urban Futures Project has been developing this guidance and their findings with some typical examples of its application will be outlined and discussed at this meeting.
The presentation will be led by Dr Rachel Lombardi of the Urban Futures Project and a Research Fellow at the University of Birmingham. Please book via the link in the title.
Arrangements are in hand to offer this event in a number of other locations across England during March.
Housing Strategy (England)
Please see here for the PIPA Bulletin Special, with information and links, on the Government's Housing Strategy published on 21st November.
Localism Act
The RTPI is maintaining a update page on the Bill/Act as details emerge and on aspects that the RTPI is seeking to influence. Royal Assent was announced on 15thNovember which means there is now a Localism Act.
National Planning Policy Framework (NPPF)
A similar page is available to keep you abreast of the lively debate around the draft NPPF on which the consultation has now closed.
Member Discussion pages
The abolition of all the RSSs across England by the new Coalition Government gave rise to an exchange of Member views through the fortnightly Member Bulletin. Members can see the debate collected together from past editions of the Bulletin and join in the debate. This has subsequently been followed by discussions on the route to affordable housing and community planning.
Ways of getting involved
We encourage members to submit information for inclusion in our email bulletin, to host small member events, and to promote dialogue and discussion. All PIPA activities are non-political.
Please email us brief items for inclusion in the bulletin. such as news and information on research projects, events and good practice, or requests for assistance or information from other members.
- A sample of the regular Member Bulletin can be sent on request: pipa@rtpi.org.uk
Climate Change Challenge
Climate change poses a challenge to all those involved with sustainable planning and is prompting changes to the RTPI Vision for Planning.
SECTION 106 AGREEMENTS - TIME FOR REVIEW?
Following on from the well-supported meetings in Bristol, London, Tunbridge Wells & Grantham, a further meeting was held in Leeds in November. A copy of the presentations made at this event can be viewed via the Resources page in the Members' area (link below and in the left-hand column).
| Title/Synopsis |
|---|
| Open Consultations |
| View and contribute to planning related consultations. |
Latest Articles
| Date | Title |
|---|---|
| 09-Feb-12 | Open Consultations |
| 07-Feb-12 | PIPA Progress |
| 07-Nov-11 | Events |
| 29-Mar-11 | Contact PIPA |
| 09-Nov-10 | PIPA Conference a huge success |
| 12-Oct-10 | Politicians poised for Sheffield Conference |
| 01-Oct-10 | Localism - PIPA Discussion |
| 18-Jul-08 | Effective Community Engagement |
| 05-Jun-07 | The Status of Parish Plans |
| 01-May-07 | ‘How does it feel to be a Planning Councillor in 2007?’ Survey |
World Heritage for the Nation
Prompted by the 2009 DCMS (Department for Culture Media & Sport) consultation under this title (linked here) three consultation events were arranged across the UK. The RTPI Nations, the Institute for Historic Building Conservation (IHBC) & three World Heritage sites co-operated to provide these opportunities to consider and influence the responses to this significant consultation.
A copy of the RTPI response to the Consultation is here.
And you can also read the response submitted by our event partner IHBC here.
The final DCMS document 'World Heritage for the Nation: Identifying, Protecting and Promoting Our World Heritage. The Government's Response to the Consultation' can be viewed via the link.
