Developers: we can help planning authorities

Local authorities should be incentivised to promote development and actively encouraged to accept financial and professional assistance from developers to help them carry out their planning functions, the property industry has urged.

Those recommendations are highlighted in a "planning manifesto" unveiled by the British Property Federation (BPF).

The federation, the trade body for landlords, investors and agents, argues that developers should be encouraged to contribute resources to help local authorities to deal with planning applications.

The organisation points that councils are already allowed to accept such help but claimed that "unnecessary fears over issues of probity" are restricting take-up.

The manifesto calls for councillors to receive formal planning training so that they can make more informed decisions. The developers argue that members would benefit from a better understanding of how the property market works.

The BPF makes it clear it wants councils to be encouraged to outsource work to private consultants or form partnerships with neighbouring authorities to free up staff to handle major applications.

The manifesto urges that statutory consultees should only have a month to comment on proposals and if they fail to respond in this period their views should be discounted. The developers also want a major reduction in the mass of supporting information required for major applications.

Liz Peace, chief executive of the BPF, said: "Our recommendations are designed to make the best use of what we have, mostly without the need for legislation or substantial extra local authority funding."

She added: "The BPF has fully supported government planning reforms but we feel there are still a lot of obvious and relatively simple changes that could be made."

Adrian Penfold, head of planning and environment at British Land, said: "These are self-help recommendations that are intended to promote a better trained and resourced planning regime.
 
"Now is the time to step up to the mark to free up resources to focus on important plan-making and major application work, share skills, and bring about efficiencies and benefits for hard pressed local authorities and the communities which they represent."

CLG chief planner Steve Quartermain said: "BPF's manifesto is a welcome contribution to the debate about how to shape a faster, fairer planning system that is fit for purpose and focuses on delivering outcomes for a better user experience. The government's reforms are already streamlining the system so it puts communities and better decision making at the heart of planning."

Read the British Property Federation press release

Roger Milne

18 September 2008