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Planning Leadership Essentials are back! We are really pleased to be delivering our legendary LGA Leadership Essentials councillor training sessions again. The first Leadership Essentials session is one of our most popular courses on the role of Planning Committee Chairs. Held at Warwick University Conference Centre over the weekend of 20 and 21 July 2024. The course helps councillors who chair planning committees understand the key characteristics of a good committee and develop their skills as a chair, as well as giving updates on new challenges and agendas. It is useful to both new and experienced planning committee chairs and vice chairs.
There is a cost to access the session but it is being partly subsidised by DLUHC. To find out more visit our website or to book a place, please contact: grace.collins@local.gov.uk. There are only limited places so book your place as soon as possible.
Are you a head of development management or simply want to know how to tackle the backlog of applications? We are holding a webinar on the 9 July (10am-12pm) on Backlog Busting to showcase how councils are using staff skills and processes to improve performance management. Book your place on the Backlog Busters webinar.
In December 2023, 108 councils received a share of £14million to spend on projects improving skills and clearing backlogs of planning applications. PAS recently held some in-person events with successful PSDF councils to hear about their projects. We are holding a webinar on 5 June at 10am to showcase some of the learnings and best practice. Book your place on the planning skills delivery fund webinar.
We have a long history of doing odd-jobs for councils that have particular needs that are not covered by the government grant we get that keeps PAS going. It has been a bit ad hoc so we've taken some time to set out what we do and why we do it on a new section of our website - we're calling it PAS Solutions.
Sometimes it helps to have a trusted and impartial body come and train your planning committee. More importantly, if you are newly in charge of a planning department, we can help you hammer out your priorities for the next year or two with a peer challenge. If you want to understand how it works, have a poke around and see if you'd benefit from our help.
We are now into Planning Committee training season, so please use our Planning Committee training slides to help you train your councillors. The slides have recently been updated to cover changes in guidance and to spruce up the images that we use
We delivered a series of regional roadshow events in March on the draft toolkit and associated resources. The events also provided an opportunity to hear first-hand from local authority officers about their nature recovery ambitions and progress to date. View the presentations and recordings from PAS and Natural England, as well as Birmingham City, Cheshire West & Chester, Islington and Rochdale councils.
DLUHC have published suggested text for use on decision notices to help local planning authorities to comply with the requirements on Biodiversity Net Gain – click on the links in paragraphs 025 and 026 of the Biodiversity Net Gain PPG. Use of the text is discretionary, and LPAs should decide on the content of their decision notices and may wish to get their own legal advice.
The Environment Agency and the TCPA have created a free, introductory learning resource on planning for flood risk in England. The interactive training has been specifically designed for planners and flood risk professionals working in the public sector.
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