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We have been working with councils for a while on how to respond to advice from Natural England that most developments can only proceed if they are “nutrient neutral”. Last week another 42 councils received new advice, and several existing catchments received changed advice. The letter about nutrient pollution from the chief planner helpfully sets out some of the immediate impacts. We’ve put a map together of all the areas on our nutrients page.
It’s a complicated picture with lots of moving parts, so we are holding a series of workshops to walk you through it. Sign up to the events on our Eventbrite page and check the nutrient FAQ on the website. It is important to respond quickly to avoid legal challenge – we have published a slightly scrappy checklist we put together helping councils through the first few days in the past.
We are really pleased to see the announcement of 25 council and neighbourhood group Design Code pathfinders and we look forward to working closely with them, Department for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities (DLUHC) and the Office for Place as they progress their exemplar local design codes.
We know that a number of authorities were not successful in being selected to be pathfinders and PAS are keen to help them and any other local authorities interested in progressing local design codes. We have partnered with Urban Design London (UDL) to be able to offer a number of local planning authorities free access to a series of great training sessions around design coding. If you are interested in accessing this offer please do get in touch with Steve at PAS stephen.barker@local.gov.uk.
Following our February overview events on Department for Environment, Food & Rural Affairs (DEFRA)’s consultation on biodiversity net gain regulations and implementation, we’ve just completed a further six “deep-dive” workshops on key topics. DEFRA valued getting feedback directly from councils and attendees shared views and experience of . We're now pulling together a summary of key findings. Event recordings and slides are available on our website. Remember the consultation closes on 5 April.
On 20 March 2022, DLUHC launched £10 million of capital funding for 2022/23 to support local authorities in England for building new or improved accommodation for travellers who have their needs assessed under the Planning Policy for Traveller Sites or the National Planning Policy Framework. This funding can be used for building new transit and permanent traveller sites, to refurbish existing permanent traveller and transit sites and provide temporary stopping places and facilities for travellers. Further details on the fund can be found on gov.uk .
Applications are open until midday 13 June 2022. For any queries on this funding please email travellersitefund@levellingup.gov.uk.
There is lots going on with planning and digital, and there are now lots of projects and pilots at various stages of completeness. It’s exhausting keeping track of what is going on and you could, if you wanted to, make “going to a show and tell” into a full time job.
We are hoping to pull together a digital event to showcase some of the work that is already underway, to flag some training that we have been working on and to have a conversation about what all this is going to mean for planners. Details are still to be confirmed. If you are interested please pencil in the afternoon of Wednesday 25 May.
Our colleagues at the Royal Town Planning Institute (RTPI) are delivering a masterclass on Planning for Elected Members on the afternoon of 31 March 2022. The session is for local authority and parish councillors and will look at the roles and responsibilities of decision making in the planning process.
As part of its commitment to creating a more inclusive planning profession RTPI has launched EXPLORE a work experience pilot that aims to encourage and inspire young people particularly those from Black, Asian, Minority Ethnic communities and lower socio-economic backgrounds to become planners. They are seeking employer partners to host young people for a week in June. Can you help? Register your interest.
Plan periods, strategic housing policies and plan reviews
How to score land for solar farms?
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