Consultation Hub

Planning reform – but at what cost?

Today is the deadline for responses to the Government’s consultation on its policy paper Planning reform: supporting the high street and increasing the delivery of new homes, which proposes to increase the Permitted Development Rights allowing change of use, and in doing so removes public consultation from decisions affecting the regeneration of town centres. I ...
Consultation Hub

Planning reform – for the worse

Today is the deadline for responses to the Government’s consultation on its policy paper Planning reform: supporting the high street and increasing the delivery of new homes, which proposes to increase the Permitted Development Rights allowing change of use, and in doing so removes public consultation from decisions affecting the regeneration of town centres. I ...
Property PR Hub

The Raynsford Review and the potential for greater community involvement in planning published in Town and Country Planning

At the end of November, the TCPA published Planning 2020:  the final report of the Raynsford Review of Planning in England.  The report includes some excellent recommendations but will they change policy on consultation in planning? The final report is an incredibly comprehensive and significant assessment of the English planning system by former housing minister ...
Property PR Hub

The Raynsford Review and the Potential for Greater Community Involvement in Planning – Town and Country Planning

I am frequently asked whether consultation is a legal requirement in planning. The fact that it is impossible to answer in fewer than 100 words exemplifies just how complex community involvement in planning has become. And so I, and other Associates of the Consultation Institute, very much welcome the Interim Report of the Raynsford Review ...
Property PR Hub

Quality at a price that doesn’t match

ConsultOnline clients benefit from the strategic advice of an Associate of The Consultation Institute (skilled and experienced in all aspects of consultation, up to date with case law, guidance and new methodologies), and the tactics of the author of the definitive guide to consultation in planning (Public Consultation and Community Involvement in Planning: a twenty-first ...
Consultation Hub

The Revised NPPF: a missed opportunity

In May, the Government (Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government) held a consultation on revisions to the National Planning Policy Framework – the headline planning policy document from which all other planning policy stems. I contributed to the consultation through The Consultation Institute’s response, which commented specifically on the very opaque legislation / guidance ...
Consultation Hub

The Raynsford Review:  an opportunity for greater community involvement in planning

The Town and Country Planning Association (TCPA) is undertaking a considerable review of the English planning system, intended to make it fairer, better resourced and capable of producing quality outcomes.  A key tenent of this is improved community involvement in the planning system. The task force, which is chaired by former planning minister Nick Raynsford, ...
Consultation Hub

Professionalising consultation in planning

The law surrounding statutory consultation is extensive. And yet when developers consult on planning applications, there is a stark absence of official guidance, regulation and case law. Why, in a discipline led by professionals – chartered surveyors, planning consultants and lawyers – is the approach to consultation so lacking in professional rigour?  Because in most ...
Consultation Hub

Online consultation:  a social media warning

As someone who believes strongly in online consultation, I work with social media on planning applications on a daily basis.  On the whole I think that social media offers some fantastic opportunities for promoting and extending the accessibility of a planning application. But I have to say, don’t be tempted to use social media just ...