Best of British Planning Study Tour

Published by Fiona Mannion for TCPA in Housing and also in Communities, Environment, Local Government

This September, leading housing and planning charity, the Town and Country Planning Association (TCPA), will be taking a cross-sector group of planners and councillors to visit some of the best examples of the UK planning system.

Kate Henderson, TCPA Chief Executive, said:

“Many local authorities are updating their local plans and grappling with how to meet their local housing need, create new jobs and deliver homes and communities that will stand the test of time. This study tour will allow them to learn firsthand how the UK became synonymous with the best in town and country planning and shaped some of the most attractive, resilient and sustainable places that have inspired the world. More importantly, it will seek to demonstrate how we can apply this learning to planning for new communities today.”

The UK has an unprecedented record in building Garden Cities and New Towns. Although it is now over 40 years since the last of our New Towns was designated, they continue to provide a wealth of experience upon which we can draw. At a time when the Government is preparing for a new wave of ‘locally supported large-scale development’ and has recognised in national policy that the supply of new homes can sometimes be best achieved through planning for larger-scale development that follows the principles of Garden Cities, this UK study tour will provide delegates with an insight into the lessons of the past, both good and bad, and the opportunities for (and challenges in) delivering high-quality sustainable development in the context of planning reform.

As Britain’s oldest housing and planning charity, the TCPA has extensive experience in delivering both UK and international study tours.  The four day study tour will take delegates on a journey through some of the most significant examples of UK planning of the 19th and 20th centuries, including the model village of Bournville, Letchworth (the first Garden City), Stevenage and Milton Keynes (the first and the largest of the New Towns, respectively), and some more contemporary examples of planning at scale and for a low-carbon future (in Cambridgeshire and at Lightmoor Village).

Taking a cross-sector approach, the tour will hear from key players involved in the planning and delivery of these communities; explore firsthand the approaches used in design, layout, economic development, green infrastructure, governance, transport, energy and waste; and learn the transferable lessons for planning new communities today.

To find out more please visit the TCPA website.