Over 60 organisations and individuals have come together to call on the Government to ensure that people are placed back at the heart of the planning system, led by charity the Town and Country Planning Association (TCPA) and supported by environmental and disability rights organisations, professional bodies, housing associations and community groups.
The manifesto represents the views of a broad cross sector coalition of organisations and individuals who share a common belief in the value of planning to improve the quality of lives and the condition of communities, according to TCPA chief executive Kate Henderson.
‘We believe that a powerful and democratic planning system can help ensure the delivery of decent healthcare, schools, jobs, public transport and affordable homes which are accessible and have enough space for kids to play,’ she said.
‘These are things that all sections of society should be able to enjoy as a matter of course, regardless of where they live or their ability to pay. However, the planning system as we knew it is being continually undermined and devalued though significant reforms and deregulation,’ she explained.
‘Over the last 30 years the reputation of planning has declined and it has lost all sense of the progressive social values that once lay at its core. This is partly because it lost sight of any vision that connected with people's real lives and partly because planning regulation was seen as a brake on the free market. We know this is wrong: the countries that are creating great places have strong planning systems,’ she pointed out.
‘That is why we have brought together organisations and individuals who are determined to ensure that planning shapes the kind of places that this nation deserves. Planning must change so it is genuinely focused on people's needs. Our objective is to reinvent creative social town planning which did so much to lay the foundation of a civilised Britain,’ she added.
The manifesto says that the Government should give councils back power over permitted development, rebalance the National Planning Policy Framework to ensure that outcomes for people are just as important as the needs of land owners and developers, and restore a comprehensive framework of place making standards for housing including mandatory minimum standards for accessibility and space.
It also says that local Government should adopt a strong social dimension to local plans. This means shaping policy that prioritises place making, providing for the full range of hard and soft infrastructure, and ensuring social and affordable homes receive the highest priority.
It also suggests that the private and third sectors should establish corporate commitment to a fair and inclusive planning system while planning professionals and academics should transform planning education to ensure planners have the right skills in community development.
As part of an ongoing drive to ensure that planning focuses on people and high quality place-making, the TCPA has produced a briefing on the implications of the recently announced Housing and Planning Bill, highlighting how the Bill risks further weakening the local planning system's ability to deliver high quality homes in sustainable communities.
The Association has also produced a separate briefing setting out how the Housing and Planning Bill could support the delivery of beautifully designed, environmentally resilient and socially inclusive new garden cities.
