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National Assembly website: planning delivering for Wales

In June this year, Carwyn Jones, Minister for Environment, Planning and Countryside, published Delivering better development plans for Wales — the Assembly Government's proposals for "reformed and re-energised" development plans as a flagship of the Planning — delivering for Wales programme. Here, Trust Executive Chair Peter Cope explains the Trust's response.

As a retired local government Town Planner and a Chief Officer for ten years I have witnessed and worked with the whole history and panoply of development plans from the County Maps and Town Maps of the 50s and 60s, the Structure and Local Plans of the 70s and 80s, through to the Unitary Development Plans of the 90s and the present day. The Planning and Compulsory Purchase Act 2004 now provides a framework for a new system of Local Development Plans (LDPs) to replace Unitary Development Plans (in England they will be called Local Development Frameworks) and it remains to be seen whether, after fifty years of local government development planning, the LDP will come up with the right formula.

On the face of it all the signs are good. The Welsh Assembly Government is proposing changes to make development plans:

• clearly related to other levels of plan making
• effective in delivery of local aspirations
• easier to process, responsive to change, regularly monitored and faster to update
• inspire confidence in stakeholders both developers and communities.
• better able to integrate land use planning decisions with the programmes and policies of others ,such as infrastructure service providers and,
• act as an effective tool for the delivery of sustainable development

This is a clear attempt to make the development plan process speedier, more efficient, less bureaucratic, and more accountable, and to engage local communities positively and meaningfully. The development plans of the past have proved inflexible and ridiculously over lengthy in their formulation and deliberation. I think I am right in saying that only one Unitary Development Plan in Wales has reached the final adoption stage after eight years of their existence.

What is more important is that the general public, both at individual and community level found existing and old style development plan processes over formal, over bureaucratic, time consuming, confusing and intimidating. Although the Skefflngton Report of the late 60s did to some extent emphasise the importance of public participation in the plan-making process, this never translated into meaningful community involvement and the processes of public and community participation in reality remained essentially reactive rather than proactive. The 2004 Act, however, now requires local planning authorities to prepare and implement a community involvement scheme (CIS) as part of the LDP process.

The Assembly’s consultation document states that it is essential that the CIS provides for involvement of the community at an early stage in the preparation of the LDP and is a clear public document setting out:

• the authority’s principles and process for involving the whole of the community in the preparation, review and alteration of the LDP.
• targets to be achieved by the authority in involving the community in all stages of LDP preparation.
• the organisations that will be consulted and people and groups who need to be involved with an outline of the techniques to do so effectively
• resources
• relevant links with other community involvement initiatives, particularly the Community Strategy.

These are fine words and fine aspirations and it is only to be hoped that the rhetoric translates into reality. There can be no doubt that for the first time a development plan system is emerging which will allow for full community participation and involvement in a meaningful and constructive way. It implies that communities will be encouraged to be involved in the plan formulation process at the important formative stages, playing the role of partners rather than distant consultees. Communities will be able to contribute genuinely and positively to the future shaping of their local neighbourhoods, not just in terms of land use but also socially, culturally and environmentally. Many groups, however, will still need outside help to ensure that their interests are adequately protected and their aspirations are fulfilled, and this is where organisations such as Planning Aid Wales can play such an important role. Although the LDP is demonstrating a fundamental shift in the ability of local communities to make known their views, many individuals, local community groups and organisations will still feel to some extent confused and intimidated by the complexity and formality of the system.

The main thrust of the proposed LDP arrangements should however be supported and the Civic Trust for Wales offers its support. It is to be noted that civic societies are specifically mentioned in the consultation programme. Other proposals such as slimmer documents, better use of Supplementary Planning Guidance, a four-year target for adoption, full review every four years, and continuous monitoring are to be commended. There is still perhaps a loophole in the relationship of LDPs to sub-regional considerations. Whilst the document makes it clear that local planning authorities should have full regard in the preparation of LDPs to national planning policy and the Assembly’s spatial policy as contained in the Wales Spatial Plan, there does not appear to be any specific mechanism for the determination of sub regional issues through inter-authority discussion and collaboration. All in all, however, the document represents a major step forward in the development planning process and is to be thoroughly welcomed.