The Government’s 10-year Infrastructure Strategy outlines a new approach aimed at ensuring planning and delivery is joined up. However, the RTPI warns that further support is needed for a spatial planning approach.
Dr Victoria Hills, Chief Executive of the Royal Town Planning Institute, said: “ The RTPI supports a long-term and integrated approach to infrastructure planning set out in today’s 10-year Infrastructure Strategy. This includes the creation of the National Infrastructure and Service Transformation Authority (NISTA), which we hope provides more joined-up working across Government to deliver the country’s infrastructure needs.
The intention to better integrate sectoral plans and strategies spatially and proposals to publish national spatial priorities in future updates have been a long term ask from the RTPI.
However, to deliver this Strategy, the Government needs to do more to support the preparation of spatial plans across the country.
Strategic plan production could require 150-200 new planners, alongside workforce demands from the Government to expedite and improve local plan coverage and establish more development corporations.
Meanwhile recent changes to Level 7 Chartered Town Planner apprenticeships could jeopardise our workforce pipeline by potentially 200 planners a year.
The preparation of a comprehensive workforce and skills strategy is essential if we are to anticipate and stop this perfect storm of capacity issues. We are ready to provide any support the Government needs to prepare this.
