a tangled web for plan-making

摘要

On local planning, the Housing White Paper~1 is once again rearranging the deck chairs on the Titanic. It's all too complicated and too target driven. And it does not take account of the meagre resources available for the extra work involved. The result will inevitably be long delays which will slow housing delivery. But it has to be admitted that local authorities are often their own worst enemy. The White Paper notes that since 2012 only a third of councils have adopted a Local Plan, and 34 councils have not published a Local Plan for consultation since 2004. York, for example, does not have a plan in place - just a 1956 Town Map and a 'saved' Green Belt policy from the deceased regional strategy.