PLANNING AND DEVELOPMENT
Sustainability is a central component of planning at all scales. The UKs National Planning Policy Framework explicitly calls for all development to be sustainable recognising the interdependence of environment, economy and society, It states that the planning system has to perform a number of roles:
Economic
Contributing to building a strong, responsive and competitive economy, by ensuring that sufficient land of the right type is available in the right places and at the right time to support growth and innovation; and by identifying and coordinating development requirements, including the provision of infrastructure
Social
supporting strong, vibrant and healthy communities, by providing the supply of housing required to meet the needs of present and future generations; and by creating a high quality built environment, with accessible local services that reflect the community’s needs and support its health, social and cultural well-being
Economic
Contributing to protecting and enhancing our natural, built and historic environment; and, as part of this, helping to improve biodiversity, use natural resources prudently, minimise waste and pollution, and mitigate and adapt to climate change including moving to a low carbon economy.
With the above in mind any development large or small is highly contextual posing particular opportunities and barriers to achieving sustainability. Chartered surveyors can directly address these imperatives identifying the key sustainability opportunities and barriers of any particular site. Utilising a whole systems and life-cycle approaches a number of stages can be addressed:
Strategic vision, Master-plan
Pre application consultation with planning authorities.
Pre application consultation with relevant government agencies, etc
Preparation of planning and supporting environmental statements.
Project management of all specialist areas of the application including EIA’s.
Stakeholder and public consultations.
Applications to vary and update planning conditions
Planning Appeals.
Revised National Planning Policy Framework:
"the challenge will be for local authorities to accurately capture at broad plan levels the complexities and distinctive characteristics of individual sites…[a] lack of skills in local authority planning departments have plagued attempts to effectively use the planning system for some time now."
“Government must recognise that to be this ambitious and bold in the planning stage and achieve value down the line, it must find ways to properly resource planning authorities.”
Tony Marshall, Associate Director of RICS
