Levelling Up Planning

By Perry Miller

Earlier this week, The Department for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities announced funding for local authorities to trial a number of ‘new digital initiatives’, in an effort to make the planning process more accessible. £1 million from the PropTech Engagement Fund will be distributed across 13 areas in England to run digital pilots aimed at boosting engagement in planning and encouraging a broader demographic to get involved. 
Examples of initiatives include:

• London Borough of Hounslow will create an online 3D map, helping residents to visualise and comment on proposals.
• Watford Borough Council will develop a QR code system for residents allowing them to view an interactive map and access planning information.
• Greater Cambridge Shared Planning will use digital technology to capture views outside of the formal consultation process, including social media comments, media articles and blog posts.

Sounds great. I’m all for easier access to the planning system and a better understanding on the part of communities as to how planning actually works. But when I see the Minister say he wants to use digital technology to ‘make the planning system fit for the 21^st century’, I’d make a plea for action in the round.

I am talking about:

A proper funding settlement for local authorities that means they can attract planning officers with decent salaries and interesting roles. Might mean my clients don’t need to appeal for non-determination quite so often. 

• Planning decisions taken by professionals – aka officers or councillors with some level of qualification. So we don’t have to endure councillors taking a ‘comfort break’ (cue blank screens for the viewing public) while they try furiously to come up with reasons for refusal, with no help from reluctant officers.
• Planning data that can be submitted via, and extracted from, machine readable documents, rather than a set of pdfs and excel spreadsheets that fail to talk to each other. Why are CD-ROMs and hard copies of planning applications still required by local planning authorities? Far too much time is spent researching data that should be readily available. 
• A system that encourages decision makers to engage with applicants and communities throughout the pre-app process, so there are no surprises when a scheme goes to Committee. Imagine holding someone’s annual review without having spoken to them once in the previous 12 months, even when you weren’t happy with their behaviour.

Let’s forge ahead but not leave the basics behind.