Claire Stafford is a Planning Practice Advisor at the RTPI
As the year draws to a close, it’s an opportune time to reflect on the varied activities of the four practice-focused networks over the past 12 months, i.e. a planning version of Spotify’s Wrapped.
Not only have these four networks continued to foster a sense of community within distinct areas of planning, they have also provided strategic support to the Institute’s policy work in terms of collating expert opinions which then directly informed our consultation responses.
Indeed, the all-member network review survey results revealed the value that members place on the opportunity to form connections with other professionals within these areas of planning and the capacity for knowledge exchange.
The Urban Design Network
Most recently, the half-day online UDN conference was a resounding success; the event began with opening remarks from the RTPI President and UDN Chair, and was followed by the RTPI Research Manager who provided a historical context to new town planning in England. Patrick Clarke from AECOM then provided key examples of masterplanning in practice, with Sowmya Parthasarathy outlining the government's current vision for a new generation of new towns.
As UDN Chair, Vicky Payne, notes:
"It's been an interesting year at the intersection of planning and urban design and a great year for the urban design network. We are pleased to have grown our membership, kept members up to date with the urban design policy landscape and supported the RTPI in feeding into government consultations on design.
"We were especially pleased that the theme of this year’s UDN conference (New Towns) correlated so strongly with discourse within the sector. We saw record-breaking member engagement with the event, and the interest in the topic was palpable from the chat and Q+A. It was great to get insights from New Towns Taskforce member Sowmya Parthasarathy who closed the conference with reflections on the work of the Taskforce as they progress towards their summer 2025 recommendations to government."
The Independent Consultants’ Network
ICN also enjoyed another successful conference, with the network continuing to provide a much-valued sense of community for independent consultants.
“As ever, the ICN has had an extremely busy year and we welcomed some fresh faces onto an expanded Steering Group in the Summer. The Network continues to represent member interests within the RTPI (including contributing to the RTPI Network review, assisting with responses to Government consultations) and externally, including its ongoing engagements with PINS.
"The ICN conference is a highlight of social and learning activity for the network. Around 80 members attended the annual conference at the spectacular i360 venue in Brighton in May, enjoying wonderful weather, a walking tour, evening social event and a packed day Conference delivering essential CPD and business learning. The Steering Group is already focussing on the 2025 event due to take place in Birmingham in May 2025”.
ICN Chair, Pete Lloyd
The National Association of Planning Enforcement
NAPE has played a key part in the Institute’s work within the area of enforcement, with the updated Handbook published earlier in the year.
As NAPE Chair, Olivia Stapleford, summarises:
“2024 has been a challenging yet rewarding year for planning enforcement professionals and NAPE. We saw a return to our Conference on 30 April 2024, which was one of the best attended NAPE conferences ever. This goes to show the level of interest and support enforcement is receiving at the moment. We had an array of brilliant speakers and feedback from the event was glowing. Some of the enforcement changes under LURA 2023 have come into effect now and LPAs are getting to grips with new notice types (Listed Building Temporary Stop Notices, Enforcement Warning Notices) and a newly aligned immunity period for all development.
"Biodiversity Net Gain has been another incoming change that has impacted planning enforcement. A useful Webinar took place in November, where I spoke about enforcement of BNG conditions. All in all, an active year for planning enforcement and NAPE, whose committee continue to support incoming changes and play a vital role in raising the profile of planning enforcement.”
The Transport Planning Network
TPN has kept members up-to-date with the latest developments within this specialism of planning. This network provides a key interlink between the RTPI and Transport Planning Society, the highlight being the joint conference held in May; this event delivered DfT updates, case studies, guidance on both Local Transport Plans and the Active Travel England Toolkit, and discussions on garden villages and mobility hubs and developing rail proposals.
“TPN is unique in its remit as a gathering place for transport planners, which gives professionals working within this arena broader connections within the industry. The network also improves the Institute’s working relationship with relevant Government departments.
"It’s positive to see the Government’s move towards vision-led transport planning within the recently published NPPF. This is something the network and wider industry have long been calling for”.
Dr Ada Lee: RTPI Policy Specialist (Infrastructure and Climate Change)
As ever, the Institute remains thankful to all network volunteers for their continued support within their varied roles.
More information on the networks is available here.
