CECA has responded to the Government’s latest National Planning Policy Framework consultation, which has been examining several areas that are relevant to our membership.
The consultation has asked for views on planning reform in relation to clean energy and water, sustainable transport and managing flood risk among other areas related to the broader infrastructure sector.
Establishing a more efficient and less complicated planning system remains a key aim for CECA, so that our members can get on with the job of delivering the infrastructure projects and programmes that can help drive economic growth.
CECA’s response has recommended the following:
- Making the rules clear and consistent nationwide – national policy must be genuinely rules-based, and the hierarchy of decision-making authority must be unambiguous so that national decision-making is not relitigated or refracted through local policymaking.
- Reducing onerous documentation & evidence demands – evidence requirements must be standardised, streamlined using templates and defined maximum/minimum datasets, and based on guidance that establishes criteria as to what is fit for purpose.
- Ensure public bodies respond on time – a reformed National Planning Policy Framework must be paired with timetabling, clear expectation for timely consultee responses, and clear escalation routes where delays do occur.
- Link Growth Plans to real-world infrastructure delivery – deliverability and sequencing must be hard-wired into strategic and local planning, with greater use of Early Contractor Involvement (ECI) and the inclusion of an infrastructure delivery statement in local plans and spatial strategies.
- Minimise late-stage negotiations & the re-opening of decisions – clarify review mechanisms so they manage genuine change without reopening settled positions and reduce negotiation churn.
- Ensure standards are based on real-world practicability – national standards should come with clear approval/adoption responsibilities and time-limited processes, and planning should not duplicate other regulatory regimes.
You can read CECA’s full response here.