The RTPI has responded to the Government’s Plan for Change planning reforms:
Victoria Hills, Chief Executive of the RTPI, said:
On building homes around commuter transport hubs:
The RTPI has long called for a place-based approach, which ensures that new developments are located and designed in ways which will reduce car dependence, promote the use of sustainable and healthy transport options and maximise the use of existing infrastructure, thereby supporting genuinely sustainable, vibrant communities.
Planning should work with and for the people it impacts, ensuring communities flourish in healthy, well-connected places.
On streamlining NSIP decisions and the 10 Year Infrastructure Strategy:
We support the government’s proposal to take a more strategic approach towards infrastructure planning. We particularly welcome the plan to make five-yearly updates to National Policy Statements a legal requirement.
The discussion on introducing more flexibility in terms of consenting regimes is also one that the RTPI has previously called for.
The RTPI believes a more spatial approach towards infrastructure planning will improve community engagement, whilst also enhancing certainty for developers. Hence, we are very pleased to see the government considering a spatial element in the 10 Year Infrastructure Strategy. We will continue to work with government on delivering a regime that works for the economy, clean energy and communities.
We continue to call for a well-resourced planning system and a strategic approach to infrastructure and housing, which will deliver the economic growth the Government is prioritising.
