BECG submitted a detailed response to the government’s Planning For The Future consultation document at the end of October.
In our response we welcome measures to modernise the planning system such as greater digitisation, use of virtual-reality visualisation and deploying more on-line engagement to reach wider audiences than those attracted by traditional face-to-face engagement methods.
We also highlight past poor outcomes from attempts to deliver complex system change in the planning sector. Instead we suggest that it is well-targeted and focused changes to the system have often been shown to make more impact and to do so more quickly than comprehensive and ambitious reform that struggles to succeed. At the same time, we identify significant areas of the planning system being left untouched by these proposals which are themselves an intrinsic part of the present challenges within the system.
Our conclusion is that the overall impact of these proposals will be to disrupt the planning process at a time when local government is under immense pressure and yet housing delivery has never been more important.
You can download our response below.
