Thursday 29th March 2012, Guoman Charing Cross Hotel - London, 09:00 - 16:00
A New Planning Regime: Reforming the UK Planning System
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Overview
An effective planning system helps to ensure that development takes place in a way that is economically, socially and environmentally sustainable. It is a necessity for the encouragement of economic growth, sustainable development and cohesive community interaction. As the government looks to promote economic growth within the Big Society, the Department for Communities and Local Government are reforming the planning system to make it less complex, and more accessible whilst promoting sustainable growth.
The coalition has outlined radical reforms to the planning system which will give neighbourhoods and citizens far more ability to determine the shape of the places they live. The recent consultation on the draft National Planning Policy Framework provided local communities and planning stakeholders with the opportunity to better understand how to create a concise policy framework in which economic growth and sustainable development can be delivered.
Following the recent passing of the Localism Act (2011), the government will now look to transfer power to local people through the introductions of community right to build orders, local plans, and through the use of local referendums. Reforms will decentralise the planning system; ending top-down control over local planning decisions and ensuring democratic accountability exists at the local level. A new system will be implemented with local authorities and stakeholders playing a wider role than ever before in planning for, and developing their communities.
Agenda
Drawing on responses to the Localism Act and the recently concluded consultation on the National Planning Policy Framework, this forum will examine the latest policy developments within the planning system, and will examine how the implementation of new policy will impact local authorities and community stakeholders. Delegates will learn more about the government’s plans for the future of the planning system and how they will play a part in promoting local growth and sustainable development.
| 09:00 |
Registration and Coffee |
| 09:30 |
Chair’s Welcome Address
Professor Gavin Parker, Chair of Planning Studies, Henley Business School, University of Reading (CONFIRMED)
|
| 09:40 |
Morning Keynote:
Moving Forward With a New Planning Regime
- Assessing responses to the consultation on the National Planning Policy Framework
- Implementing a consolidated National Planning Framework
- The impact of the Localism Act on planning, communities and development
- Driving forward with community right to build orders as part of the neighbourhood planning framework
- Building a successful working relationship between local and central government
- The impact of scrapping regional strategies and the benefits of local decision making
- Building a planning system that is adaptable to local needs
- The role of independent inspectors in a decentralised system
- Paths to promoting sustainable growth and development
- What will reforms to the planning system mean for those who work within the sector?
Steve Quartermain, Chief Planner, Department for Communities and Local Government (CONFIRMED)
|
| 10:00 |
Questions and Answers Session |
| 10:10 |
Meeting the Commitments to Sustainable Development; Protecting the Environment
- Ensuring environmental protection is considered during times of austerity
- Balancing short term economic gains with long term environmental impact
- Reassessing the ‘assumption in favour of sustainable development’
- What are the benefits for the development of local areas in protecting their environments?
- Responses to scrutiny of the environmental policies within the National Planning Policy Framework
- Environmentally friendly approaches to new developments: resources, methods and providers
- Protecting the green belt, heritage sites and valued landscapes
- Preventing pollution and land instability whilst building a healthy, natural environment
Neil Sinden, Director of Policy , Campaign to Protect Rural England (CONFIRMED) |
| 10:30 |
Localising Planning: The Role of Local Government and Community Stakeholders in Planning
- Evaluating the transitional effects of decentralisation within the planning system
- Successful strategies for creating and implementing neighbourhood development orders
- Who will be responsible and accountable for planning in the local community?
- Planning policy as a path to inclusion and interaction within the community, encouraging local community engagement
- The role of commercial interests and private sector businesses as community stakeholders in local planning
James Freeman, Head of Planning Services, Swale Borough Council (CONFIRMED) |
| 10:50 |
Questions and Answers Session |
| 11:10 |
Coffee and Networking |
| 11:40 |
Supporting the Deliverance of New Homes and Infrastructure Through Strategic Planning
- How can the new planning system help to meet the government objective to significantly increase the delivery of new homes?
- Increasing choice and opportunities for home ownership
- Ensuring local planning authorities have the resources to effectively deal with applications for new developments
- Contributions to economic growth through the building of houses and infrastructure
- Opportunities for community regeneration through planning
- Strategies for providing local infrastructure including recreational facilities, waste, water, energy and local amenities
Dr Peter Williams, Director, Cambridge Centre for Housing and Planning Research (CONFIRMED) |
12:00 |
The Role of the New Planning Framework in Promoting Sustainable Economic Growth
- Invigorating the economy through the new planning system
- The benefits of local knowledge and leadership in regenerating local economies
- Investing in the community; creating local jobs, attracting investment and giving local communities a share in local growth
- Utilising the new planning system to reduce economic inequalities in local areas
- The role of the private sector and business interests in neighbourhood planning under the new planning system
- How can local governments ensure that they have the resources and budgetary requirements to commit to planning and development in austere times?
Alexandra Jones, Chief Executive, Centre for Cities (CONFIRMED) |
| 12:20 |
Questions and Answers Session |
| 12:40 |
Lunch and Networking |
| 13:40 |
Adapting the New Planning System to Rural Communities
- What is the impact of abolishing regional spatial strategies?
- Effectively using neighbourhood development orders to develop planning regimes in keeping with the local environment
- Reducing inequalities within rural areas
- What are the specific planning and development challenges for rural communities and how can the new framework help to overcome them?
Kate Henderson, Chief Executive, Town and Country Planning Association (CONFIRMED) |
| 14:00: |
Enhancing Public Engagement in the Planning Process
- Giving communities greater say over the shape of their local area through the use of neighbourhood development orders and referenda
- Creating a successful working relationship between communities and local authorities
- Facilitating social interaction and inclusive communities through participatory planning
- Prioritising health and well-being on the planning agenda
- Public engagement and its positive effects; reducing crime, valuing space, driving social interaction
Mike Holmes, President, Planning Officers Society (CONFIRMED) |
| 14:20 |
Questions and Answers Session |
| 14:40 |
Coffee and Networking |
| 15:00 |
Case Study: Implementing Local Planning Strategies
- Decentralising power – creating local, flexible planning policies
- Ensuring building programmes meet local requirements
- Balancing economic concerns with local needs; protecting heritage, environment and services
- Reducing bureaucracy; creating an efficient planning process at the local level
- Driving forward community regeneration through planning
- Ensuring local planning authorities have the resources to effectively deal with applications
- Capitalising on planning reforms to engage local community stakeholders and build for the future
Harmesh Jassal, Strategic Manager, Planning & Building Regulations, Stoke-on-Trent City Council (CONFIRMED) |
| 15:20 |
Closing Keynote: A Streamlined Approach to Planning
- What are the implications of the National Planning Policy Framework?
- How can local authorities best respond to planning reforms?
- The benefits of a simplified and streamlined approach to planning
- Responding to local input; adapting the presumption in favour of sustainable development
- Creating a planning system for prosperity, people and places
- Moving forward with an accessible planning framework to achieve sustainable development and economic growth
- Successfully achieving decentralisation; moving the planning system into local focus
- How will a streamlined planning system improve availability and accessibility to information?
Clive Betts MP, Chair, Communities and Local Government Committee (CONFIRMED) |
| 15:40 |
Questions and Answers Session |
| 16:00 |
Chair's Summary and Close |
*Programme subject to change without notice
Audience
Delegates will include key representatives from central government departments & bodies and local authorities; heads of regeneration, heads of economic development and heads of planning and development. Delegates will also include directors of housing associations, energy and construction industries, planning experts, local developers, regional development organisations, environmental experts, civil and environmental engineers, urban designers and planners, interest groups, academics and all those interested in the planning system.
