“The Chancellor’s first speech in office stated that planning and development was at the heart of this Government’s Growth Agenda. Today’s Kings Speech confirmed that position.
Planning reform was placed very high on the agenda. In fact, it was second, immediately after a section on the importance of economic growth.
Despite the high-profile position of planning reform in the speech, it was relatively light on planning related legislation. However, if speed is the goal, then it makes sense to avoid too much primary legislation, which can easily get bogged down in parliament and focus instead on the levers that are easier to pull – namely policy changes, such as the revised NPPF, and secondary legislation.
We do have a proposed “Planning and Infrastructure Bill” referenced in the text of the speech, but its contents have been left perhaps deliberately vague. The lack of an express ‘New Towns Bill’ is perhaps a little surprising, but it may be sensible to get a little further along in deciding the location of those new settlements before the legislative framework for providing them is put in place.
That said, for all I know, this could also be the purpose of the “Planning and Infrastructure Bill”. A name like that could mean almost anything!
Many of the measures set out in it were heavily featured in the Government’s manifesto prior to the election:
- a focus on planning reform (through the NPPF, new towns and other measures).
- the creation of a Great British Energy company.
- a push to increase delivery of renewable energy projects.
- a focus of devolution, metro mayors and a ‘greater than local’ approach to strategic planning (likely linked to that wider devolution push); and
- a stronger approach to the regulation of water companies.
None of this is a surprise, but it is needed.
The real question will be whether these policies can be delivered fast enough for their effect to be felt before the end of the term. Five years is not a very long time to turn around something as complex and contentious as our planning system. It looks, however, as if the Government is, at the very least, determined to try.”
