Surveyors back controversial reforms to planning regime

Chartered surveyors have welcomed the Government's controversial draft National Planning Policy Framework.

The Royal Institution of Chartered Surveyors president See Lian Ong said in a letter to the Prime Minister: “The existing planning system however well intentioned has failed to deliver the homes, infrastructure and jobs/ investment that UK Plc needs as an urgent national priority.”

He told David Cameron: “We also believe that the draft strikes the right balance in safeguarding the environment and promoting strong, vibrant and healthy communities.”

The reforms proposed would provide a planning system more workable for local communities and more responsive to public need, he added.

The framework is intended to replace a vast amount of planning policy with a concise statement that guides the development of local authorities’ policies.

But the Planning Officers Society called the framework “a heroic attempt to condense and clarify a vast tangle of Government policy”, which was “bound to have gaps, errors and uncertainties”.

Among its concerns it said the duty on local authorities to co-operate on planning matters that cross boundaries was too weak and would not be effective replacement for the now defunct regional planning tier.

The society also said the Government was sending a mixed message about localism versus centrally-driven policy objectives, which the framework did nothing to clarify.

It said the framework contained a similar confusion in stressing both sustainability and economic growth.

“We foresee a range of difficulties for individual authorities in setting housing figures that win the support of local communities while also complying with Government policy,” the POS response added.

Mark Smulian

See also: Minister rails against criticism of planning reforms

LGA demands more time as National Trust savages planning reforms