Planning reforms to boost economy

Ben Standing, Partner specialising in planning at UK and Ireland law firm Browne Jacobson, welcomed the move and said putting the planning system front and centre of its economic growth mission is a wise call by the government, which is taking a refreshingly bold and speedy approach to clearing the road for future developments. However, he also cautioned that none of these changes will offer a quick fix and reorganising the system at large isn’t going to solve the issues it wants to tackle on their own given there are other structural challenges, in particular around skills needs.

He noted that a £600m fund to train up to 60,000 more construction workers across 10 new technical excellence colleges indicates recognition from the government about this but added that extra money must be complemented by a dedicated skills strategy that addresses the sticky issue of how to encourage young people to take up construction careers.

Standing also pointed out that while legislative changes should make the planning system work smoother, we’re yet to hear from government how it intends to bring communities along this journey. He said at the moment, the discourse is around which areas carry the ‘burden’ of new housing but this points to a broader reputational challenge for development, which is in desperate need of a makeover to be regarded more positively by the public.

He concluded that to turn this perception around, there must be a concerted effort by central and local government, in partnership with the construction industry, to meaningfully engage communities hosting new public infrastructure – whether this is housing developments, renewable energy schemes or transport projects – and identify how local people can benefit.

Photo By Kirsty O'Connor / Treasury - HM Treasury