Liberal Democrats

October 2011

‘Participation must extend to every group – no stakeholder left behind’

Of the planning related fringes at Liberal Democrat Conference the event Localism and Growth was one of theliveliest and best attended. The panel was made up of Stephen Gilbert MP, CLG committee member, Dr TimLeunig, Chief Economist of CentreForum, Trudi Elliot, the RTPI’s Chief Executive and Local Dialogue Partner,Mark Brown.

Stephen Gilbert MP stated that the Localism Bill will be an essential element in dismantling the top down“Whitehall knows best”. However, his concerns, shared by the wider Liberal Democrat membership, focused onthree elements that had to be improved:

1. Transitional arrangements should be made clearer2. Less affluent areas must not be abandoned3. Neighbourhood planning should not solely be driven by home owners

Mark Brown suggested that a key challenge was to get people involved in the planning process and thesuccess, or failure, of the Localism Bill will be linked to the enabling or blocking role local authorities couldplay.

Trudi Elliot focused on the level of debate on the NPPF surmising that polarisation around the discussions wasnot helpful and could lead to the planning system being undermined in the eyes of the public.

The panel agreed that any developer involvement in drafting Neighbourhood Development Orders would be asignificant advance on the status quo, whereby new schemes are done ‘to’ local people rather than ‘with’them. There is support for the direction of plans and hope that communities will become more involved in theplanning system, however, there is a lack of clarity about how planning reforms will affect Britain’scommunities and what impact they will have on development.

Local Dialogue hosted packed fringe events at each of the conferences debating the subjectof ‘Localism and Growth: Can the new planning system deliver both?’

The following briefing document will summarise the key planning points from each debate.

Local Dialogue hosts FringeEvents at the Party Conferences

Labour‘Optimism over changes, but funding is crucial’

Colin Haylock, RTPI Senior Vice-President, chaired the Localism and Growth debate at the Tate Liverpool with apanel including Trudi Elliott, Heidi Alexander MP and Local Dialogue Associate Partner, Scott Royal.

Trudi Elliott began, clarifying the position of the RTPI – which is keen to support greater engagement in theplanning process and are concerned about the ‘selling’ of planning permissions. Referring to a number ofsuccessful RTPI case studies – available from its website – she highlighted that neighbourhood planning is notnew.

Reinforcing the RTPI’s position, Heidi Alexander, stated she had also seen successful examples ofneighbourhood planning. Whilst pointing out that she feels there is confusion in the NPPF, she also raisedconcern that there is no mention of affordable housing in the NPPF.

Scott Royal followed by suggesting that, while there can be antagonism, not all communities are anti-development – especially when they can see the advantages. He suggested that the New Homes Bonus couldaid this, but any tangible gains should be obvious to immediate communities. Welcoming the RTPI position onincreasing engagement in the planning process, Scott suggested resourcing and support would be required toachieve this, not just financial but training communities too.

The overall mood amongst delegates was optimistic, however concern about funding cuts for planning serviceswas clear. There was also a call for leadership and the suggestion that politicians need to take a major role inworking with developers and communities.

Conservatives‘New regime welcomed but transition and resourcing are key’

Unsurprisingly, the Conservative fringe event was the most popular of the three. A high-profile panel, includingRTPI President Richard Summers, Planning Minister Bob Neill MP, Cllr Gary Porter of the LGA, Trudi Elliott andLocal Dialogue Partner Jeremy Fieldsend.

Bob Neill opened by suggesting people saw the planning system as ‘adversarial’ and something that happens‘to’ communities not ‘with’ them. This was brought about by a number of factors in the current system such aspredetermination and the now-defunct regionalism. The Localism Bill and the NPPF, said Mr Neill, weredesigned to remove these obstacles, which alienate communities.

Cllr Gary Porter, representing the LGA, was largely in favour of the Government’s proposals, however, he wasunhappy with their timescales, which would rush important changes. Local authorities needed time toimplement the changes and create local plans.

Jeremy, in agreement with the panel, raised three key points:

1) The ‘other presumption’ in the system is that communities want to plan. In his experience, communitiesonly want to plan when they are exercised over particular proposals.

2) Secondly, the system needed a methodology to assess public sentiment – how did a petition weigh against a letter, for example?

3) Finally, he welcomed the removal of predetermination rules as both good and bad - emphasising the need for councillors to be fully informed in advance of committees.

Trudi Elliott raised two key issues. Firstly, she questioned the complexity of the system being proposed and theease of transition to it. Secondly, she suggested the NPPF was a ‘missed opportunity’, it should be a spatialdocument, and its language needs tightening if it is to become workable.

From the floor, sentiment largely backed the Government’s aims for the planning system. However, recurringthemes included the need for sensible transition arrangements towards the new system, the resourcing of thatsystem and the need for appropriate strategic co-operation in place of regional tiers.

ABOUT LOCAL DIALOGUE

Local Dialogue is a specialist stakeholder communications agency with a successful track record ofadvising on and implementing effective, meaningful and inclusive consultation and communicationsprogrammes. We have an in-depth understanding of the workings and motivations of communities andLocal Authorities, as well as regional and national government.

Working as an integral member of the project team, we provide tactical advice and practicalcommunications/consultation support at all stages of the development process from Local DevelopmentFrameworks to initial proposals, planning applications to public inquiries right through to constructionand launch.

London:Mark BrownT 020 7357 6606 E mark.brown@localdialogue.com

Leeds:Jeremy FieldsendT 0113 246 9243E Jeremy.fieldsend@localdialogue.com