The Chancellor of the Exchequer Rachel Reeves has outlined plans to boost the UK economy. A central component of these plans? The government’s continued focus on planning reform to ‘get Britain building’ and drive economic growth – a reminder that planning remains more critical than ever in shaping the country’s future development.
As the government pushes forward with its growth agenda, a series of working papers have been released, focusing on planning committees, development, nature recovery, brownfield passports, and infrastructure planning. These papers offer a glimpse into how the government envisions planning to evolve in the coming years, and at the RTPI, we’ve been closely engaging with our members in responding to these developments.
One notable document is the government’s planning reform working paper on development and nature recovery. In this paper, the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government, and the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs propose a “new approach” to planning, aiming to use funding from development to deliver environmental improvements at scale. The ambition behind this approach is clear: to move towards a more strategic, outcome-focused model for nature recovery. Read our Policy Specialist Dr Ada Lee break down our response.
Additionally, we’ve contributed feedback to a call for evidence on the funding and sustainability of local government finance. This input was directed at the Housing, Communities, and Local Government Committee, underscoring the need for a stable, resourced planning system to support the government’s housing and infrastructure goals.
As part of our advocacy efforts, the RTPI has been actively engaging with policymakers and stakeholders through various roundtable discussions. Last month, our new Policy and Public Affairs Manager Robbie Calvert attended a roundtable with the Campaign to Protect Rural England to discuss the implications of the Planning and Infrastructure Bill for rural England. And tomorrow, I’ll be providing evidence at the Environmental Audit Committee, contributing to discussions about how housing growth targets align with environmental sustainability. The evidence session follows a recent roundtable I attended with MHCLG and Defra to explore nature recovery and its integration with housing and infrastructure planning.
At the heart of this is the need for a well-resourced planning system that can effectively support both sustainable development and the economic growth the government is prioritising. As the government moves toward introducing the Planning and Infrastructure Bill in March, we are advocating for a comprehensive skills and resource strategy for the planning profession, ensuring our members have the tools and expertise they need to deliver on the government’s agenda.
We’ll continue to advocate for resourcing across the whole of the UK and Ireland. It’s an exciting time to work in planning and we want to ensure the door is well and truly open for the next generation of planners to come on board, regardless of where they are in their career journey.
