Barker review

Kate Barker has published her review of the planning system and concluded that changes are necessary if planning is to secure the future development of sustainable communities. There is a recognition that the system needs to be made faster and less complex. Key among the recommendations is the creation of an independent planning commission to determine major applications of national importance.

Where does CSS stand?

• Welcomes the identified vital role that public accountability plays to ensure appropriate levels of development and infrastructure provision.
• Questions that an independent planning commission can be diverse enough to be both transparent and find consensus in determining contentious major development proposals. This contradicts the tenet that public accountability is vital to win community confidence.
• Questions the ability of central government to provide clear-cut and definitive guidance on how the “presumption in favour of development” will apply within ‘a more explicit role for market and price signals’.
• Believes the number of ‘spatial geographies’ used to determine investment priorities, eg housing markets, causes unnecessary confusion. Principal local Authorities can work together to provide a cross-boundary and sub-regional view and, in the case of major developments, could provide a speedier determination.
• A planning system should be about strategy and delivery and not focused purely on process. Plan making is a key which leads to better, quicker decision-making.