Planning Advisory Service October 2019

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October 2019

October 2019 newsletter

Planning Advisory Service


I had the privilege of attending one of our Community Infrastructure Levy (CiL) workshops in Birmingham this month. It is not an area that I know well, having never worked in a CiL charging authority. I was sat amongst all the people who manage developer contributions from all different authorities.

I thought that I was doing OK until we got to the calculation sessions.

There is such a talent within this officer group and I sometimes think that we overlook the skill that is necessary to manage the calculations, systems, monitoring and spend of these funds.

Infrastructure is often noted as the part of development that communities welcome and as such it becomes the focus of most discussions about developments. I wonder whether we truly value the people who manage this process. If we don’t, I really think that we should.

The month ahead is busy but it also feels like we are waiting. An accelerated Housing Green Paper is scheduled for before Christmas and I am sure that we will have a role in briefing you on the content.

We may have more to report next month so watch this space...

Kind regards,

Anna Rose
Head of PAS

PAS Annual chief planners and rising stars conference

It was so lovely to be able to gather heads of planning and rising stars from their authorities together at the end of September in Nottingham for the PAS Annual Conference. We realise how important it is to stay tuned into the pressures that this level of responsibility brings. Working with this group alongside people they consider to be rising stars was a great experience. The conference covered the many elements of the PAS programmes (strategic planning/local plans/delivery/development management/developer contributions) plus tackling some new areas such as resourcing and large scale delivery all tied up with talks from the Ministry of Housing & Local Government's top planning team.

Thanks to everyone who attended and contributed to the conference. 

New PAS Local Plan Route Mapper and Tookit

We are pleased to publish the PAS Local Plan Route Mapper and Toolkit, which is freely available for Local Planning Authorities (LPAs) to use to undertake a review and update of local plan policies.

The new mapper gives practical help to users to undertake a Local Plan review, to project plan and manage the update of a local plan and carry out a Local Plan update and is supplemented by a toolkit which can be used over the plan-making process to check that the plan is progressing correctly and challenge the draft plan ready for examination.

This replaces the PAS Local Plan Soundness and Legal Compliance Checklists.

The Route Mapper and Toolkit is designed for LPAs to use themselves but we can work with local authorities to use it as a “critical friend” or adviser from our team of experienced local authority peers or our team of consultants.

Introductory workshop for Local Plan Route Mapper and Toolkit

Following release of the new PAS Local Plan Route Mapper and Toolkit and high demand for places at the initial introductory workshop, we are pleased to announce a new session on 18 November 2019 in London.

The Route Mapper and Toolkit is designed for LPAs to use themselves to help to review and update their local plans.

This free workshop will introduce planning officers to the new Local Plan tools and how to use them. Places are limited to one per authority.

New councillor training pack

We have put together a training pack for councillors and other leaders wanting to get a deeper understanding of how housing numbers work in planning. It is designed to be tailored to local circumstances, but it provides a comprehensive overview of the core concepts and language. 

  • the new standard method
  • housing delivery test
  • housing numbers and local plans
  • housing numbers and neighbourhood plans
  • housing land supply.

It is far longer than our standard training packs, but some of these issues are very interrelated and need to be tackled together. Let us know what you think. We're very interested in your feedback on this, our first draft in a series of new councillor materials.

Leadership Essentials: planning committee for chairs and vice chairs

Due to high demand for places, PAS and the LGA are delivering another Leadership Essentials course for planning committee chairs and vice chairs on 19 and 20 March 2020 in the Midlands and places are already filling up.

This course focuses on good quality decision-making at planning committee and how a good planning committee is run. Attendees compare how their committee operates with other authorities and share ideas with other councillors.

To book a place please contact grace.collins@local.gov.uk

Strategic planning update

As part of our strategic planning work programme, we have just started three topic papers. The papers are being undertaken by academic institutions and will consider the links between health, environment and transport to strategic planning. The papers will reflect the current landscape and emerging practice and consider the opportunities available to strengthen collaborative working.

The papers will be shared in February/March next year.

K-Hub

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Climate change, CO2 and local plans

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