White Paper - Planning for the Future - Response of David Lock Associates

As one of the largest independent town planning and urban design consultancy practices in the UK, DLA welcomes the opportunity to respond to the ideas and thinking set out in the White Paper. The planning reforms proposed are wide ranging, and deal with matters which in truth may only be able to be effectively resolved through a consideration of planning in parallel other strands of policy reform currently programmed – most notably local democracy, environment and transport, and climate change. There will be others better placed to respond to the White Paper on matters of engagement, trust, and democracy.   As practitioners with a particular emphasis on strategic scale planning, design and placemaking, and delivery thereof, our response focuses on the practicalities of the plan-making, consenting and implementation regimes. Here is our overarching commentary on the White Paper proposals: detailed responses to each of the specific questions posed in the White Paper have been separately submitted.