The Royal Town Planning Institute (RTPI) has responded to the government’s announcement that it will establish an Office for Investment to attract high value foreign investment for infrastructure projects:
Victoria Hills, chief executive of the RTPI, said: “While we welcome any initiative that will seek to improve the join up between public and private sectors and government departments to ensure the right conditions for international investment, we have some concerns that the new Office for Investment will struggle to create the right investment opportunities without good local and strategic plans.
“Planning is not a barrier to investment, rather a facilitator. In our response to the Planning for the Future white paper consultation earlier this month, we have called for Green Growth Boards to deliver joined-up strategies for climate action, infrastructure, housing provision, health and nature recovery. We welcome the opportunity to work with the new Office for Investment going forward.
“Our Plan the World We Need campaign calls for a robust, proactive planning system to help create the place-based solutions to ensure a sustainable, resilient and inclusive post-Covid recovery, attractive to inward investors.”
