POLITICIANS TOLD 'STAND UP FOR PLANNING – OR RISK CREATING PLACES THAT NOBODY WANTS'

Royal Town Planning Institute (RTPI) Policy and Research Director, Kelvin MacDonald, has called on all politicians to state their support for retaining a democratic planning system.  Following on from recent calls to dismantle planning, MacDonald told Conservatives gathered for their Conference in Bournemouth that calls to reduce or remove planning could lead to real threats to the environment and a worsening of the effects of climate change, to development without the necessary social and physical infrastructure to support it, to greater social exclusion and to a lack of investment in development as investor uncertainty grew.

“We have a unique opportunity in this country to create the sorts of places in which people want to live and work.  Yet we run the risk of throwing this away if we heed short-sighted and narrow minded calls for a development free-for-all.  Future generations of voters will not thank you for not taking a stand against those who either seek short term gains for longer term irreparable losses or who throw away the chance for better communities by resisting any form of development.”

MacDonald did agree that, improvements can be made to the planning process and to policy and called for:
• National and regional spatial investment plans
• A greater recognition of the burdens on services experience by those areas that do accept growth
• Partnership working between local authorities and developers to achieve the best outcomes for local communities – including greater involvement by elected members;
• An end to the pernicious culture of quantitative targets and its replacement by measures that reward quality.

ENDS

Press release issued: October 2, 2006