Raynsford Review

In June 2017, the Town and Country Planning Association (TCPA) announced the setting up of the Raynsford Review of Planning to identify how the English planning system can be reformed to improve its fairness, resources and capacity for producing quality outcomes.

The review is chaired by former Labour housing and planning minister Nick Raynsford, and will be informed by a task force of experts in policy, law, planning practice and public participation

Both the public and private sector have complained about the heavily deregulated planning system, in particular in relation to the economy, the environment and wellbeing. The review intends to provide practical and comprehensive policy guidance to tackle these issues, in a way that does not discourage the production of new homes. It will set out a positive vision for planning, intended to rebuild trust amongst the public and professionals.

Beginning in late-June 2017, evidence will be collected over an 18-month period and formally presented at all major party conferences in autumn 2018.

The members of the review task force are:

• Hon Nick Raynsford (Chair).
• Maria Adebowale-Schwarte, Founding Director, Living Space Project.
• Julia Foster, Managing Partner, David Lock Associates.
• Tom Fyans, Interim Chief Executive, Campaign to Protect Rural England.
• Kate Henderson, Chief Executive, TCPA.
• Lord Kerslake, Former Head of the Civil Service, President-Elect, LGA and Chair, Peabody.
• Anna Rose, Immediate Past President, Planning Officers Society and Director of Growth, Economy and Culture, Milton Keynes Council.
• Professor Yvonne Rydin, Professor of Planning, Environment and Public Policy, University College London’s Bartlett School of Planning.
• Chris Shepley CBE MRTPI, Consultant and Former Chief Planning Inspector for England and Wales.
• William Upton, Barrister and Secretary of the Planning and Environment Bar Association (PEBA).
• Finn Williams, Regeneration Area Manager for North West London, Greater London Authority and Founder of public sector planning think tank NOVUS.

Nick Raynsford said:

"More than ever we need a planning system which commands the confidence of the public and delivers outcomes of which we can feel proud. After too many years of piecemeal changes and tinkering with the system, we need to go back to first principles and seek to develop a practical blueprint for the future of planning in England. That is the objective of this review."

The task force can be contacted by:

• Submitting evidence as text (maximum 1,500 words per theme).
• Completing a short survey of public attitudes to planning here.
• Sending a three-minute ‘soapbox’ video on your experiences and insight.
• Joining an engagement event and having conversations directly with other stakeholders.

For more details, click here.

All responses must be submitted by 31 October 2017.

[edit] Find out more

[edit] Related articles on Designing Buildings Wiki

• Lyons Housing Review.
• Masterplanning.
• Placemaking.
• Planning permission.
• Redfern review into the decline of homeownership.
• Town and Country Planning Association TCPA.