Out-Law News 1 min. read

Lack of planning resources in north west England could impact development of 'northern powerhouse', report says


A report commissioned by the Royal Town Planning Institute (RTPI) has found that reduced staffing and funding for planning departments in north west England is having an impact on development in the region. 

The RTPI commissioned engineering firm Arup to analyse the impact of cuts to the resources of councils in the north west on growth and development and to recommend potential solutions. Arup's report (119-page / 1.7 MB PDF) noted that "local authority resourcing in the north west region is obviously particularly important to the development of the 'northern powerhouse'".

The study found that the region's councils had experienced an average decrease of 37% in planning staff numbers and 27% in development management staff numbers since 2010. Whilst councils were still managing to meet government targets for the speed at which planning applications are determined, the authors found that, when pre-application and post-application stages were taken into account the end to end planning application process could take up to two years.

The report said private developers had raised concerns about the time taken to agree section 106 planning agreements and had indicated that the quality of pre-application advice in the region was variable. It found that planning officers were having to cover the jobs of those made redundant and that a loss of between one fifth and one third of managerial staff had led to difficulties with decision-making and with engagement with council members.

Among the report's recommendations for coping with resourcing issues was the reinvestment of more of the income raised through planning, including New Homes Bonus grants from central government, back into planning services. The authors said there was also "potential for resources sharing within local planning authorities, across neighbouring authorities, with statutory consultees, specialist staff and via the use of private sector staff".

Planning expert Beth Grant of Pinsent Masons, the law firm behind Out-Law.com said: "The results of the survey suggest that, whilst the government talks about the promotion of a 'northern powerhouse' being a key part of its strategy to rebalance the UK economy, in practice they are making it very difficult for local authorities in the region to take a more proactive role in leading planning in their area by taking away the resources they require to enable them to do so."

"This is frustrating not only for those local authorities that are affected, but also for developers who are the ones that will ultimately suffer through delays to the planning process," she said. 

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