Nash Partnership meets local MPs to call for urgent planning reform

Yesterday’s announcement that two more council planning departments have been put into special measures by Government brings the urgent need for planning reform back into the spotlight. It’s also an issue that planning and design consultancy Nash Partnership is tackling in a series of meetings with and letters to local MPs.

As part of recent ‘Initiative in BANES’ meetings, Partner Daniel Lugsden and Associate Planner Alex Egge from Nash Partnership were pleased to discuss the issue of planning reform with Sir Jacob Rees-Mogg MP and Wera Hobhouse MP. Here, Daniel and Alex outlined the key barriers to delivering much-needed housing in a sustainable manner in the area and proposed proactive steps which can be taken to help alleviate pressures on the planning system.

Working for homeowners as well as organisations of all type and size, Nash Partnership steers a range of applications through the planning process. However, significant delays in the planning system – and particularly at the pre-application stage – can result in longer timescales to deliver much-needed development.

Topics of discussion at the meetings included:

• Issues caused by the introduction of new policies and standards (such as biodiversity net gain and net-zero building standards) at a time when the planning system is chronically under-resourced
• Specific issues faced with the pre-application process and the difficulty in securing face-to-face contact with planning offiers
• As members of the Bath Chamber of Commerce Economic Development Committe, Daniel and Alex raised the economic importance to the city of retaining students from two local universities by providing suitable sustainable housing
• Ideas to help make change happen including a “Let’s Talk” campaign to utilise more face-to-face meetings with planning officers to facilitate greater understanding, collaboration and efficiency throughout the planning process.

Commenting on the meetings, Daniel Lugsden said: “The need for planning reform is not new and the subject will always be evolving, as the recent news about Bristol and St Albans shows. But the system clearly needs some urgent and immediate ideas to help ease the pressure and create change. We will continue to discuss matters with the councils we work with and appreciate the chance to share our insight and ideas for helping to ease the pressures faced by the system.”