07 July 2006
The Treasury-commissioned review of planning has not been critical enough of the failures of central government, planners said this week.
Commenting on economist Kate Barker's interim report from her review, the Royal Town Planning Institute said there was not enough recognition of the fact that planning is a democratic process that has to mediate between local and national needs, and economic and environmental targets.
Launching her report on July 4, Barker said she saw no need for massive restructuring. But aspects of planning were hindering UK productivity and needed to adapt to meet new pressures presented by population growth, globalisation and climate change.
'The process of making an application is increasingly burdensome and decisions have become less predictable because of the wide range of factors [planners] have to take into account,' she said.
But there was recognition that recent planning reforms were delivering results, with almost 80% of all applications decided within eight weeks. The majority of businesses, however, were found to be dissatisfied with local planning authorities' performance and Barker said more could be done to speed up the appeals process.
RTPI secretary general Robert Upton said: 'The review will need to be more precise, honest and open about conflicts between national needs and local democracy, economic priorities and environmental absolutes.
'At this stage, many people actually involved in planning will find this interim report is an economist's view of the world and not the world as they know it.'
Housing and planning minister Yvette Cooper said: 'The planning system has got to be able to respond to new challenges.'
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