Aisling Byrne is Senior Public Affairs Officer at the RTPI
The first few months of 2025 have been a flurry of working papers, policy announcements and consultations, and this week with the introduction of the Planning and Infrastructure Bill in the House of Commons, we got the first look at the legislation that will be of prime focus for the planning system this year.
The Government has been trailing the Bill as the key to streamlining the delivery of new homes and infrastructure, enabling the delivery of the 1.5 million homes target by reforming the planning system in line with their pro-growth agenda, improving certainty and decision-making. Planners, industry and stakeholders of the system have been actively engaging in the development of the Bill, eager for the legislation to be an effective tool to empower the profession and deliver change.
The RTPI has recognised and welcomed the Government’s ambitions to make improvements to the planning system, promoting effective planning that not only meets house-building targets but builds connected, thriving communities. All of which can only be delivered through a plan-led approach.
The Bill addresses areas that the RTPI has long campaigned around, including the issue of resourcing for local planning authorities. Budget reductions in the last few years have severely impacted local planning authorities and their staff. The Planning and Infrastructure Bill features a clause which will amend the Town and Country Planning Act 1990 to empower local planning authorities to set their own planning fees. The Bill will also make changes to the planning fees model to ensure that local planning authorities can recover the costs of delivering their relevant planning functions through fee revenue. This investment into planning services is a welcome addition, and we hope a step in the right direction towards increased protections for local authority planning departments being able to reinvest fee income from planning applications directly back into planning services.
The Bill’s commitment to strategic planning is also a positive take-away. RTPI commissioned research has shown that over 80% of planners in both public and private sector are in favour of strategic planning being mandated by the Government. Planners know that effective strategic planning will be essential in ensuring new developments are located in the right place and designed to reduce car dependency and support healthy communities.
The RTPI will be producing a full analysis and response to reforms set out in the Planning and Infrastructure Bill in due course, but at this stage it is evident that the Government’s promising proposals can be further supported by the inclusion of the RTPI’s legislative asks in the next iteration of the Bill.
Statutory Chief Planning Officers
Investment into planning services through fee setting and a new national scheme of delegation could be directly supported by the establishment of a statutory Chief Planning Officer in every local planning authority. The establishment of this role would ensure a seat at the table within councils’ senior leadership teams and that a sufficiently qualified planner is appointed to perform planning functions and demonstrate leadership throughout the delivery of reforms.
A National Spatial Framework
The strategic planning ambitions within the Bill would be further enhanced by the development of a National Spatial Framework which would provide a place-based perspective for the proposed National Industrial Strategy, Local Growth Plans and the Land Use Framework as well as support the coordination between local, regional and national planning.
Provision of online planning committees
The public, the communities we create, and those who live, work and grow within them are vital stakeholders within the planning system. The Bill can go further in strengthening the partnership between communities and those delivering homes, infrastructure and services through the provision of online planning committees. At a time when Parliament itself is going through discussions on modernisation, the importance of public accessibility to the planning process cannot be underestimated. The provision of online planning committees to enable participation by the public would be an encouraging step towards inclusivity of a diverse range of voices and lived experiences into the planning process.
Purpose of planning
Similarly, the inclusion of a “purpose of planning” within the Bill would support in communicating to the public the intention of the planning system and set the tone for the overall aim of reforms addressed in the Bill. It would give members of the public, developers, planners and other stakeholders a clear definition of what the system aims to achieve, and therefore can influence the way in which we each engage with the system under a united purpose.
The RTPI will be continuing to produce briefings throughout the passage of the Bill, including a briefing paper ahead of Second Reading. To keep up to date with our latest resources relating to the Planning and Infrastructure Bill make sure to visit our Planning Reform 2025 Hub.
