Planning Skills

[This article was originally printed in Planning Magazine, February 2008] This month I find myself writing about the shortage of planners, the skills they bring and their contribution to shaping communities. I feel I have been here a number of times before – yet, what has changed since Egan? Yes, there are more planners and planning schools are oversubscribed, planning is again becoming a [...]

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Do you know how much Planning costs ?

[This article was originally published in Planning Magazine, January 2008] As we go into a new year we often take stock of where we are and what we need to do for a productive start and fresh perspective. This is particularly the case as we go into a tightening financial environment. With this in mind I wonder if you know exactly what you spend [...]

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Self-Assessment

[This article was originally published in Planning Magazine, September 2007] The world of local government is shifting on its axis and not just as a result of the sheer weight of paper coming out of central government. The emerging improvement culture is causing a substantial shift of its own. Last year’s Local Government White Paper set out the foundations and direction for this new [...]

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Development Management

[This article was originally published in Planning Magazine, September 2007] This month I want to talk about development management, what it actually means, its role within the new planning system and how it affects the traditional divisions between policy and DC teams. Contrary to some opinions, development management is not development control by another name. A new approach has been driven by the implementation [...]

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The new planning system

[This article was originally published in Planning Magazine, September 2007] Through the spatial planning system and the place shaping agenda, planning has been given the tools to help communities achieve their ambitions. Planners working in partnership with members as community leaders, and local partnerships, are integral to taking these tools and using them to deliver real and lasting change for the communities they serve. [...]

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Planning and Housing

[This article was originally published in Planning Magazine, August 2007] I have been most interested to see that planning has been in the news recently, not only because of Prime Minister, Gordon Brown’s announcement of plans for three million new homes by 2020 but planning has also been the subject of a recent television news documentary programme. And of course, we know that housing [...]

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Collaboration and sustainable outcomes

[This article was originally published in Planning Magazine, June 2007]  Collaboration is a constant theme of both the Local Government and Planning White Papers. Collaboration, and other similar phrases such as partnership working and integrated services are consistently used within the sector, but how do we ensure these buzz words translate into practical and sustainable outcomes? Put simply the objective of collaboration is getting [...]

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Planning Peer Review

[This column was originally published in Planning Magazine, March 2007]  A local authority that has recently participated in the new Planning Peer Review said: ‘We decided it would be a very useful health check and also help us to continue to improve. What was a high performing authority five years ago would not be high performing now if it stood still.’ The Planning Advisory [...]

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