Royal Town Planning Institute CEO calls for urgent action aorund funding
The head of the Royal Town Planning Institute (RTPI) has called on the new government to honour its Queen’s speech commitment to devolve powers to the regions and to boost infrastructure funding.
In a letter sent to ministers in the wake of last week’s Queen’s speech, RTPI chief executive Victoria Hills (pictured) said the government needed to back its commitment to invest £100bn in infrastructure by further devolving powers and delivering adequate funding for infrastructure “so that local authorities can properly embed infrastructure into their plans, and deliver it in a coordinated way”.
Hills said she welcomed the government’s commitment to address the climate change crisis, “but planners need more direction and resources from government to help them reach net-zero carbon targets by 2050.”
The RTPI was calling for the forthcoming planning white paper to give a clear indication around better funding for local planning departments, Hills said.
“Local authority planning teams have seen a reduction of 42% in funding over the past decade, a situation that must now urgently be addressed.
“Planners have to be adequately resourced to deliver sustainable communities that people want to live in.”
The RTPI’s key demands:
- resource local planning authorities to deliver the government’s targets on carbon net zero, homes and infrastructure
- remove barriers to the creation of city-regional spatial development strategies and allow city regions to use their devolved planning powers
- support the planning profession to ensure that the UK leads on delivering climate and environmental action
- uphold the right of communities to have a say in local development
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