Do you have a growth mindset? It’s increasingly a challenge just to keep up but, if we don’t, who will? Today’s blog post does no more than try to keep track of some of the latest announcements.
Does the government have a growth mindset? Well, if “growth” isn’t written in big letters on a white board in the Cabinet Room I’ll be surprised.
In terms of planning reforms, the current pace and focus is growth, growth, growth.
Before Christmas the latest version of the NPPF (see my 14 December 2024 blog post I Love It When A National Planning Policy Framework Comes Together), proposals in relation to local government reform (together with strategic planning) and CPO compensation changes (both covered in my 21 December 2024 blog post And Now Take A Deep Breath… ).
Then changes to judicial review procedure in relation to nationally significant infrastructure projects (see my 25 January 2025 blog post DCO JR Changes, #silkyplanoraks).
Finally, last week we had:
- HM Treasury’s 10 year infrastructure strategy working paper (27 January 2025)
- MHCLG’s Planning Reform Working Paper: Streamlining Infrastructure Planning (26 January 2025)
- The Chancellor’s speech , headlined “Chancellor vows to go further and faster to kickstart economic growth”.
The Chancellor’s speech was certainly a very clear mood board as to where she (“I have been genuinely shocked about how slow our planning system is”) and the government are at. In fact it was a smogasbord of specific announcements (listed in Nicola Gooch’s excellent 1 February 2025 blog post) including
- delivery of the Lower Thames Crossing (ahead of any formal decision in relation to the current DCO application…)
- measures to unlock the potential of the Oxford-Cambridge growth corridor (noting that there have already been “18 submissions for sizeable new developments” along the route of the East West Rail project) and
- (the focus of much media attention) support for a third runway at Heathrow.
Stating the obvious, all of these measures will only work with both (1) a sufficiently stable economy and political environment as a basis for business to make long-term investment decisions (Heathrow’s owner will no doubt be deciding whether finally to press the button on the application process, assessing how long-term this political commitment is likely to be and whether the changes announced to DCO and judicial review procedures have gone far enough in practice to avoid another quagmire of legal challenges) and (2) with the necessary resources and experience available to local authorities, the Planning Inspectorate and statutory consultees. And in addition, another reason why “our planning system is so slow” is because there are always fresh legal pitfalls to avoid (eg see Campaigners hail “important victory” in protection of England’s national parks (Guardian, 1 February 2025).
Of course, there are always calls for the government to go even further. Someone brought to my attention Times’ columnist Emma Duncan’s piece this week, Time for Starmer to cut out the planning lawyers, which ends “What Reeves is doing to the bats she now needs to do to the planning lawyers”. No more living in a £100 million bat tunnel for me. 😥
Simon Ricketts. 2 February 2025
Personal views, et cetera
SIMONICITY 