RTPI Parliamentary briefing ahead of Second Reading on 24 March
Overview
The Royal Town Planning Institute champions the art and science of planning, working for the long-term common good and wellbeing of current and future generations and representing over 27,000 members across both public and private sectors.
The Bill presents an opportunity to deliver positive change for your constituents, therefore the RTPI urges MPs to seize the opportunity to support and enhance this legislation by raising our key asks in the Second Reading debate on 24 March 2025. These include:
- Statutory Chief Planning Officers
- Mandatory requirement for the provision of hybrid and online planning committees
- The inclusion of a purpose of planning in the Bill
- Provisions for a National Spatial Framework
In February, the RTPI launched our Planning Reform 2025 Hub. This Hub is the home of all the RTPI’s planning reform related policy briefings, commentary, blogs and consultation responses.
The Hub will continue to be updated over the course of the year as planning reform policy and legislative developments progress.
The RTPI has reviewed the legislation as a whole and wishes to highlight the below key areas for consideration to MPs and their staff.
Resourcing to deliver growth
The Bill will enable local planning authorities in England to set their own planning fees. It will further introduce a power that the income from planning fees or charges is applied towards the delivery of planning functions. This will ensure improved service delivery and provide greater transparency for applicants about where their money is being spent.
We welcome this as a positive step towards protecting planning fee income so that resources can be re-invested into planning services.
It is important to consider the context in which the Bill will be implemented. We continue to have concerns about the chronic under-resourcing of our planning system and therefore we will be urging Parliamentarians to be guided by our key principles of ensuring that there are no new and unfunded additional duties proposed throughout the Bill’s passage. Furthermore a long-term resourcing and capacity strategy should be published alongside the Bill when it reaches Royal Assent in order for the system to deliver the legislative changes effectively.
Strengthening local decision-making
The RTPI is pleased the Bill has taken forward proposals for Planning Committee members to undertake mandatory training, which the RTPI is strongly in favour of.
The RTPI goes further to assert that there should be a test that all members must pass before they are able to participate in planning committees. Furthermore, triggered by any significant national planning reforms, additional training should be provided to update members on new legislative and policy positions.
Our membership are broadly supportive of a national scheme of delegation in England and we look forward to contributing to the consultation. In order to support this new national scheme of delegation, the RTPI believes the establishment of a statutory Chief Planning Officer in every Local Planning Authority would directly place competency and accountability at the heart of decision making.
Key ask – Statutory Chief Planning Officers
Chief Planning Officers are a critical part of the democratic process, being best placed to provide impartial professional advice to elected members and build a critical relationship necessary for smooth local decision making and democracy. The establishment of a statutory Chief Planning Officer would secure planning services a seat at the table within councils’ senior leadership teams and ensure that a sufficiently qualified planner is appointed to perform planning functions and demonstrate leadership throughout the delivery of reforms.
Under the new scheme of delegation, if more significant planning applications are going to committee, then we need to do better at broadcasting this part of the process for public engagement.
Key ask – Virtual Planning Committees
The RTPI would further propose that there is the mandatory provision of virtual planning committees to increase accessibility for the public and encourage a diverse range of voices and experiences engaging with the planning process.
Regardless of democratic mechanisms, we think it is critical that Government frames the planning system correctly, recognising its purpose is to manage the use and development of land in the long-term public interest. And we think this should be on the face of the Bill.
Key ask – Purpose of Planning
The inclusion of a “purpose of planning” within the Bill would support in communicating to the public the intention of the planning system and set the tone for the overall aim of reforms addressed in the Bill. It would give members of the public, developers, planners and other stakeholders a clear definition of what the system aims to achieve, and therefore can influence the way in which we each engage with the system under a united purpose.
Providing strategic vision
The reintroduction of strategic planning has been a priority for the RTPI and our members over the past decade, and the Government has demonstrated through the Bill a commitment to its reestablishment
The Bill’s commitment to strategic planning is positive and reflects RTPI commissioned research that has shown that over 80% of planners in both the public and private sectors are in favour of strategic planning being mandated by the Government.
The strategic planning ambitions within the Bill would be further enhanced by the development of a National Spatial Framework coordinating between local, regional and national planning.
Key ask - National Spatial Framework
In the RTPI’s work around a National Spatial Framework for England, we have identified the benefits of having a mechanism which resolves land use conflicts and enables co-location to guide us to build in the right place for the right use. A National Spatial Framework would provide a place-based perspective for the proposed National Industrial Strategy, Local Growth Plans and the Land Use Framework as well as support the coordination between local, regional and national planning.
Restore nature and our landscapes
The RTPI supports a strategic approach to nature recovery. The environmental protection landscape could benefit from the consolidation of different plans and strategies, incorporating a holistic approach to nature.
The Bill has set out broad provisions for the establishment of the Nature Restoration Fund and preparation for Delivery Plans. Details on implementation are expected to be set out in secondary legislation and policy. To achieve the strategic vision of nature recovery, there needs to be coordination between Delivery Plans and spatial plans, such as existing and emerging Spatial Development Strategies.
Provisions on how the outcomes will be monitored and how often the delivery plans will be updated will be crucial as well. The upcoming Spending Review will provide Government with the opportunity to ensure that Natural England has adequate resource to enable it to discharge its new duties effectively.
Unlocking the nation’s potential through infrastructure
The RTPI understands that proposals relating to energy infrastructure need to be closely aligned with the respective devolved functions in Great Britain including the planning systems.
The RTPI has campaigned for the creation of mandatory five-yearly reviews and then if necessary updates of National Policy Statements in England and Wales, which features within the Bill.
We also support the provision for enabling projects to be redirected to an alternative consenting route and the Bill’s approach to pre-application consultation.
The RTPI broadly views the Bill’s propositions for consents for electricity infrastructure in Scotland as positive, but we highlight that processes can only be delivered and achieve their intended outcomes if backed up by a robust resourcing strategy, particularly focused on statutory consultees.
Providing the homes and places of the future
Development Corporations, which place town planners at the heart of the development process, can, under the right conditions, deliver significantly more housing than the status quo.
When effectively implemented, Development Corporations can demonstrate that a fully integrated town planning process is compatible with delivery at scale and that investment in town planning through these vehicles is good value for money.
The Government’s ambitions of reimagining the future of Development Corporations and how they can be improved is a positive step, particularly with the upcoming delivery of New Towns. However, it is important that clarity is secured as to how Development Corporations will support the delivery of New Towns and urban extensions through the planning process for example through Local Development Orders (LDOs), Strategic Development Orders (SDOs) or housing-enabled Development Consent Orders (DCOs),
The RTPI welcomes the series of proposals set out in the Bill aimed at modernisation of the compulsory acquisition process. However, we strongly encourage Government to take a broad and ambitious view on modernising the Compulsory Purchase Order process and believe there to be further opportunities needing exploration. Local authorities must be sufficiently resourced and have an adequate supply of Compulsory Purchase Order expertise to more proactively engage CPO powers.
Community benefits for the public good
A key principle of planning obligations is that they are directed towards the public good. Whilst we understand the positive intentions behind the electricity bill discounts proposed in the Bill, such incentives would be inappropriate in planning terms. The RTPI would instead advocate for contributions to funding pots that can be used for community and environmental improvements that lead to long-term benefits.
The Department for Energy Security and Net Zero has published alongside the Bill guidance on Community funds for transmission infrastructure. This guidance is an excellent first step towards providing clarity for both developers and communities. Approaches outlined in this guidance provide a route-map for securing long-term benefits for communities and delivering transmission networks fit for our low-carbon future. Moving forward, the RTPI would support a review of guidance related to community benefit, covering a wider range of development types.
Contact:
The RTPI is happy to support MPs and their offices throughout the passage of the Bill. If you would like to discuss any of the above or have questions around planning reform, please get in touch [email protected]