Politics and planning – explored at the National Planning Conference 2023
Last month, Planning Portal hosted the National Planning Conference in Birmingham, in collaboration with the Royal Town Planning Institute (RTPI).
We’re still reflecting on the success of the event, which bought together key figures from across all areas of the built environment sector to network, debate and share ideas.
This year, delegates had the chance to hear from the Chief Planners across the UK and the Republic of Ireland. It was a unique opportunity to gain insight into the perspectives of those working to implement planning legislation at the highest level, with particular reflection on planning reforms.
The session, held on the second day of the conference and chaired by Victoria Hills of the Royal Town Planning Institute, welcomed Joanna Averley from the Department of Levelling Up, Housing and Communities, Alistar Beggs from the Department of Infrastructure in Northern Ireland, Neil Hemmington from Welsh Government, Claragh Mulhern from the Republic of Ireland and Fiona Simpson from Scottish Government, and offered exclusive insight into the ongoing planning reform happening within their respective nations.
Whilst the panel agreed that recent years have been turbulent with regards to changes in planning legislation, we were given a unique insight into the journeys taken in each individual nation towards implementing national planning policies and frameworks.
Victoria also used the opportunity to gather the Chief Planner’s views and opinions on the public perception of planning, drawing attention to the RTPI’s ‘It Takes Planners &’ campaign, which aims to tackle misinformation around the planning profession and improve communication between planners and the wider public. Panellists reflected on how the profession has gained prominent attention from the media in recent years and how this has impacted public perception of the industry.
The discussion also turned to sustainable infrastructure and plan-making, with each of the Chief Planners reflecting on the attempts across their respective nations to meet net zero ambitions.
At the end of the second day of the National Planning Conference, delegates heard from Jenifer Jackson of London Borough of Richmond and Wandsworth, Cllr Jonathan Nunn of West Northamptonshire Council and Sunil Sahadevan of Luton Borough Council, in a session aimed at exploring the relationship between planning and politics, chaired by Jason Longhurst of Prologis.
The National Planning Conference this year was a huge success, providing many engaging opportunities to reflect on the relationship between planning and politics.
Stay tuned for more news on the National Planning Conference 2023, including in-depth reflections on some of our favourite sessions, in the coming days and weeks.
If you are interested in becoming involved as a sponsor or exhibitor at any of our future events, please don’t hesitate to get in touch at conference@planningportal.co.uk.
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