Time to rebuild the public’s trust in our Planning System
July 9, 2020
Joseph Carr
2833 Views
Has confidence in planning as a public service ever been so low? Like most, I have been watching with interest as the ‘Westferry Farce’ unfolds across the tabloids, with seemingly a new turn every week. Whilst details are murky (and I am not going to embark on a sentencing of our Rt Hon Mr Jenrick in this piece), its impacts on our profession on a day to day basis could be catastrophic.
Putting aside the impenetrable jargon, the legalistic framework and the (often necessary) endless bureaucracy, the planning system was founded to serve the public interest – to make places better. That cannot be achieved without an understanding of a place, garnered through learning from its residents. Once built, a place will never be a community without involvement and enjoyment from its residents, and that is always best achieved from a sense of ownership. How can you create this ownership without making people central to the process itself?
Just over 50 years from the celebrated Skeffington Report, which practically invented public consultation in the planning process, slowly but surely some public faith and interest has been created in shaping the places we live. The Localism agenda has further brought local communities into the plan making sphere (a success? Or a NIMBY charter? Maybe more on that in another blog…). However, as we all experience on a day to day basis, public confidence in the planning system remains low, and scepticism of the property sector’s motives remains high.
And no wonder, given the ‘Westferry Farce’, the impenetrable HS2 Inquiry and the quashing of the Heathrow third runway which have all occurred in the last year, all of these very much in the public eye. The message to the public seems to be that planning is a tool for political or economic interest rather than a public service. All this does is reinforce the scepticism that is already rife and undermines all the success stories which planning achieves on a daily basis, many of which don’t make the front pages other than within our profession.
As planning professionals, we have a responsibility to be the bastion for change, through our actions professionally, but also through the type of planning we promote. Are we a top-down, technocratic profession, or a bottom-up, community-led movement? In my view, we are a hybrid of the two, seeking to be a guiding force through a complex framework, helping communities and places to thrive. But the public definitely does not see us that way – we are the enemy, the agents of negative change, through an impenetrable process which takes years to understand.
CV-19 has given us an opportunity for a fresh start, with a much greater understanding of how we can connect with others and a much greater appreciation of the places we live (as my colleagues have reviewed in other blogs in this series). Now is the time to grab hold of this opportunity, educate and innovate, and seek to bring back planning in the public interest, in a manner which the public can understand.
Time to commission a new Skeffington Report, Mr Jenrick?

Joseph Carr
Associate Planner
RELATED NEWS
Great Leighs, Chelmsford City Council, Essex – Strategic Growth Site
March 15, 2023
Masterplan Framework document to deliver around 950 new homes, 250 specialist elderly dwellings, together with a neighbourhood centre, site for a primary school and a Travelling Show-persons site, all set within a mature landscape setting adjacent to and integrated with the existing village.
Proposed Reforms to the NPPF, Summary Response
March 7, 2023
In December 2022, the UK Government released a consultation document proposing changes to the National Planning Policy Framework (NPPF). You can read our summary response to this consultation here.
Project Skyway
February 21, 2023
David Lock on why we need to talk about a proposed long-distance network of drone based delivery ‘superhighways.’
Promotion at David Lock Associates
February 9, 2023
DLA is pleased to announce the promotion of Emily Benstead to the role of Planner. This recognition is a result of Emily achieving Chartered Member status with the RTPI and her noteworthy work as an Assistant Planner.
Houlton School wins RTPI Award for Planning Excellence
December 5, 2022
Houlton School wins the RTPI Award for Planning Excellence for ‘Excellence in Planning for Heritage and Culture’
DLA Working With STFC
October 27, 2022
David Lock Associates is delighted to be working with the Science and Technology Facilities Council (part of UK Research and Innovation) on a series of exciting development plans, which are helping to facilitate world-leading research.
Build Your Career at DLA
October 24, 2022
We are looking for enthusiastic, bright and committed graduate planners to join our leading spatial planning practice next summer.
New Recruits and Promotions at DLA
October 18, 2022
David Lock Associates is delighted to announce several new appointments following a recent recruitment drive, and promotions from earlier this year.
Speedy Approval for Prospero Ansty Business Park
October 3, 2022
David Lock Associates recently secured full planning permission for three flexible B2/B8 units at Prospero Ansty Business Park in Rugby Borough, which would deliver a combined floorspace of over 50,000 sq.m.