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Photo of MalcolmProf Malcolm Tait (University of Sheffield) and co-authors

The Future for Planners: Commercialisation, Professionalism and the Public Interest in the UK

Co-authors
Ben Clifford (University College London); Susannah Gunn, Abigail Schoneboom, Geoff Vigar (Newcastle University); Andy Inch, Jason Slade. 

Research description 
Spatial planning is at a crossroads, with government reform undermining the traditional vision of state-employed planners making decisions about development in a unified public interest.

Half of UK planners are now employed in the private sector, with complex inter-relations between the sectors including supplying outsourced services to local authorities struggling with budget cuts. 

Drawing on new empirical data from a major research project, Working in the Public Interest, this book reveals what it's like to be a UK planner in the early 21st century, and how the profession can fulfil its potential for the benefit of society and the environment.

Select co-authors L-R: Susannah Gunn, Andy Inch, Ben Clifford, Malcolm Tait, Jason Slade. Absent are co-authors Geoff Vigar and Abigail Schoneboom. Image taken at University of Sheffield, January 2026.