Planning at the coalface - challenged in every direction

The visit to the RTPI South East Region covered a lot of ground, from Didcot Parkway to Romsey. My guide was regional chair, Martin Taylor, Director of Humberts Leisure, and our first stop was to South Oxfordshire District Council offices, at Wallingford.

I went to meet Adrian Duffield, Head of Planning there and in the adjoining Vale of the White Horse council - as the 2 councils, one Tory, one Lib Dem, had combined their administration, but not their councils!
Adrian manages the most efficient development management process I have seen with daily and weekly, individual and team monitoring sessions. All of his teams were lively and enthusiastic, clearly keen to perform.
We moved to Abingdon, in the Vale of the White Horse, and there, Mike Gilbert, DC Manager, took us on a tour of the town centre - in particular, to an excellent mixed new and conservation scheme, based on the Old Brewery, as illustrated here.
We then returned for lunch, to meet councillors from all parties and members of the Management Team. Here, the discussion ranged from the problems of delivering a Local Development Framework to the detailed consideration of an urban extension.

Reading was a short journey away and Alison Bell, Head of Planning, took us with members of her team, around Reading Town Centre. Alison has worked here longer than she cares to admit, and I was impressed by her vision and commitment to change the centre. As I am someone who mainly sees Reading from a train, the tour and contributions from her team were inspiring. A clear framework has emerged with proper “grain” and, despite the economy, major parts of the jigsaw were clearly about to emerge, to build on the success in transforming a difficult environment. All credit to you all.

Reading University Planning School, now part of the Henley Business School - brings tears of pleasure to my eyes, to hear that planners are educated in a Business School! - is an excellent new, energy efficient building, in the pleasant parkland campus. Dr Alina Congreve, Dr Gavin Parker and others met us with a lively group of students, from an extraordinary range of backgrounds, who challenged me on the motive and process for me becoming President.
Conversely their motive was a 50-50 mixture of either wanting to change the world, or stumbling across planning and then becoming inspired.
The RTPI is working on material to capture young people’s interest at secondary school level, and there is clearly considerable potential to increase awareness of planning as a career.
The work on display was impressive and DVDs of the best were a good way of spreading the word about the quality of the course.

Planning Aid is one of the many RTPI success stories of recent years, and Dagmar Hutt is the excellent local co-ordinator. She had assembled a diverse group of practitioners to explain their jobs and promote Planning Aid to new graduates. It was helpful to hear such a diverse range of planning careers. One memorable one had moved into planning from dissecting animals for research – lots of relevant experience there, then!!

And now for something completely different….
The new “New Forest National Park Authority”, where newly appointed Director of Strategy and Planning, Steve Avery, welcomed us to offices rather appropriately at the back of a Garden Centre!
We visited a site where his team, of mainly very young planners, is breaking new ground in rural conservation areas that picked up Forest history and settlement patterns, not just buildings.
The other particular challenge concerned local residents' resistance to the proper interpretation of the General Development Order, requiring planning consent for change of use from agricultural to horse keeping - over a thousand objectors! This is certainly planning at the coalface.

Finally, to New Forest District Council Offices, where Young Planner Chair Ed Gerry chaired a meeting on “Managing Pressures on Sensitive Sites”, with offers from Natural England, the Hampshire and Isle of Wight Wildlife Trust and the National Park Authority. After a lively discussion, I was dropped off at Romsey station and managed to stay awake and not miss my change of trains at Westbury, despite a challenging few days.

My personal reflection from this visit is to applaud the efforts of our colleagues in local authorities. Challenged within by non planner representative management teams, politically from government to release a five-year supply of housing land, but locally to delay such releases until an expected change in government might change the figures, from applicants requiring considerable powers of persuasion to submit green proposals, and from objectors determined to slow down or stop development, being a Local Authority planner requires real leadership and professional skills – well done, the South East.

Developer with courage to invest in green future

First call Cardiff, at a pre conference reception in the City Hall...
RTPI Cymru is thriving under the leadership of their chair, and Director Roisin Willmott has galvanised member interest in the country.
Wales has a National Spatial Strategy and, as was demonstrated at the Conference the following day, ministerial support in Jane Davidson AM (Welsh Assembly Government Minister) in delivering a substantial sustainability and climate change agenda through the planning system.
I understand she also announced yet another review of the planning system in Wales! What we need is a review of the capacity of the development industry to deliver sustainable communities. If better schemes were submitted, the process of stakeholder consultation and approval would speed up immediately.
Next, on to Belfast with Philly, to the Northern Ireland visit. If you recall my last visit, it included an excellent awards ceremony with the RSPB and, at the end of it, I asked if I might visit some of the winners.
First, however, a Young Planners reception at Café Vaudeville, the launch of the Northern Ireland section by its chair – sponsored by the estimable Michael Burrows and Pragma Planning.
A lively debate ensued surrounding the optimism for the proposed local authority restructuring that will create “super councils” to take on planning responsibilities from government. The following morning, an interview with Radio Ulster regarding the importance of planning in delivering a vision for the community; then breakfast with a group of planning consultants, who clearly felt they were the poor relations as far as the RTPI was concerned. I found it relatively easy to disabuse them of this notion, describing where consultants, as 50% of the membership, were actively engaged in governance to mutual advantage. We agreed an agenda of Branch engagement and I look forward to seeing the results shortly.

Brokerstown Village, one of the award winners on the outskirts of the city, is an interesting example of the courage of a local developer to invest in a huge bio mass boiler for a scheme that, in the current market, will take many years to take up the energy capacity of the £2.7 million investment. Good architecture and clearly well thought out scheme illustrated here.
Then off to a hugely important lunchtime meeting with Stephen Peover, the Department Secretary. He is about to be promoted to NI Treasury Secretary and has been a keen supporter of RTPI NI, for example, agreeing to pay for subscriptions for the several hundred planners in his department. We agreed a process of more formal civil service and branch liaison, in particular concerning training for councillors and members.

Ulster University Planning School followed with an excellent meeting, led by their Head, Prof Greg Lloyd, who recently completed a helpful report for government on planning reform. The meeting with students centred on careers and I was able to offer a wider than perceived choice, especially with the likely increase in jobs following reform.
Finally for the day, a delightful dinner, sponsored by Fleming Mountstephen Planning, in the recently refurbished Ulster Hall. This was a lively affair with the “crème de la crème” of Northern Ireland planners where, as a result of their generosity, I was able to bank £150 for my Presidential charity, LINK Community Development.
Up early the following morning, with Gavan Rafferty current and David Worthington, Past RTPI NI Chairs, to Londonderry – firstly, for an interview on Radio Derry regarding the Playhouse Scheme, another Award winner; then via Mary Macintyre’s (Senior Vice Chair) divisional planning office, many of whom joined us for the Playhouse visit. The scheme is exceptional – a dream of Pauline Ross, turned into reality by Niall McCaughan, and now a driving force for arts, theatre and community support in this city, with an extraordinary, and at times terrible history.

Finally, finally back to Queen’s University to meet David Cleland, Head of School, and an excellent team of lecturers, again the discussion with students centring on careers. We finished the day in East Belfast right in the centre of an area which faces many challenges, where students were presenting regeneration schemes to a community representative. Perhaps the most startling contribution from a very enthusiastic and committed group of future planners was that one team had produced a model of their proposals shown here. No problems about how to communicate what planners have in mind. Very well done!
I would be wrong in not admitting to us both being a little tired! Nonetheless, a rewarding and encouraging visit, which I believe will lead to improved communications between Botolph Lane and the branch, especially with our policy officer Brian Sore in place. We need one of him for each of the English Regions!

Martin Willey

RTPI 2009 President

Tribute to Test Valley planning teams

Sorry this one is out of sequence, but I do want to pay credit to my colleagues in Test Valley Borough Council, who invited me back to see how my team's 1976 Romsey Town Centre Plan had panned out.
The invitation came from Policy Design and Conservation Manager, Steve Lees, one of two heads of service responsible for planning at TVBC - the other, who had just been appointed, being Paul Jackson, Head of Planning and Building, who joined us for the tour.
Steve was a little perplexed at some recent advice on the submitted Core Strategy, but his team was clearly enthusiastic and we briefly discussed the challenges of capturing all stakeholder commitment in a two-tier local authority structure, a common issue for LDF processes.


I met many young planners and those, who weren’t MRTPI, were licentiates or well on the way through their part-time planning courses. I remember well the excitement of securing MRTPI, just before I took up the post of TVBC team leader, Policy and Conservation, in 1973!!
We reviewed the old plan and I was particularly interested in the Bell Street, Romsey, area, where I cut my teeth on understanding the economics of conservation - when faced with a council-owned tranch of land, just behind a line of listed buildings within the conservation area, but in poor condition.


I was advised by a councillor to “go and speak with the enemy”, the local estate agent who gave me advice I have never forgotten.
One scheme would create values where an “accidental fire” might take place to allow comprehensive redevelopment; the next would have no impact at all and buildings would continue to fall into disrepair; the promoted scheme - in what we believed was the first planning “development brief” in the country - was to put parking in and secure ginnals through to the rest of the town centre.
We were also concerned at the general quality of new design, so Colin Stansfield Smith - now Sir Colin, the county architect - was persuaded to provide expert young architects (Huw Thomas, Neil Bradbury, Robert Adam and especially Steve Harte, who designed the car park and landscaping) to illustrate well designed extensions, to again provide the basis for investment in the listed buildings.
Colin also agreed to use Huw to design a housing scheme on the Abbey Garth which the County Council constructed as speculative housing which as you can see is still an outstanding design.
These proposals were put in place and the buildings were refurbished, now 30 years later, as the centre of specialist ladies' shops for Romsey, the ultimate test of “viability”.
We walked round Romsey and, with improvements from Steve over the years, were able to see that all of the Plan proposals had been put in place!
Romsey is a little gem and I must also credit the local conservation society, created to “save” Romsey, when it became part of Test Valley, in 1974 with Andover, whose council had previously demolished about 50 listed buildings in their town centre!
Back for lunch with the Cabinet member, CEO and other staff and old friends.
It was a particular pleasure to meet Bob Gregory, the Development Manager North, who I had appointed in the mid 70s as a trainee and sent off to college to get qualified. He hasn’t aged a bit and still looks youthful - but now has a family!
A real pleasure for me to see what real planning is about.




The following week, with Rynd, Tino and others, I met Phil Kirby, (then) President, David Hackforth, about to be (now) President, and Steven Tapper, Junior now Senior Vice President of the Planning Officers Society.
The RTPI is refreshing a number of relationships and this, with the POS, is an important one. The conversation established potential links between RTPI Networks and POS committees and looked at other issues, where a common agenda might emerge. Those responsible for planning in local authorities are the “face” of planning and the review allowed us to demonstrate how important the RTPI believes they are to the profession as a whole.

Martin Willey
2009 RTPI President

Meeting some unsung heroes in Yorkshire

Off to Yorkshire to stay - first of all - with Honorary Secretary Peter Wilbraham and his lovely wife, Anna, in Menston, a Pennine village north-west of Leeds, as they had kindly agreed to put me up during my Yorks and Humber visit.
Following a hearty breakfast of kedgeree, kidneys, a full English, porridge, wholemeal toast, croissants and healthy live yoghourt, I left by train for Leeds to meet Richard Crabtree, of Arups, the Regional Branch chair, who was to be my guide.

York City planning department was the first stop, where we received an excellent presentation from Mike Slater’s team, on their emerging local development framework and some major projects within the historic city centre.
York was a poor performer until it received the gypsies whisper from GOYH (the Government Office for Yorkshire and the Humber), and the newish council invested substantially in new resources, with immediate effect.
Their core strategy is in an advanced form, with a further stage of community engagement about to commence. We discussed the value of a visionary overview and an infrastructure framework to align other public stakeholder investment, and then took a walk around the walls and past a number of hugely sensitive development sites, where archaeological digs were underway.



York has not had an approved development plan since 1956, and the much treasured Green Belt has never been approved. The city has extended its boundaries into adjoining districts, so now has a rural hinterland. It is one of the most beautiful places anywhere and I came away full of admiration for the excellent work their planners are undertaking.

Next, Mr Wilbraham’s annual Cobbetts supported CPD (continuing professional development) conference on Development Control in a wonderful listed building in the middle of a city centre park. The other presentations were very technical and clearly hugely helpful to the 114 delegates. Mine sought to explain what the RTPI was doing for the sector, but - to my horror! - only three delegates have heard of and are members of our Development Management Network (and one of those is Past President Janet O’Neil). More for us to communicate here!

Then back to Leeds for YORnet, a wonderful multi professional built environment professional forum, led by Young Planner Bhupinder Dev, whose energy is staggering! As a consultant, who has gone back into local authority work, he is a good example of how YPs bridge the gap between public and private sectors, without any prejudice. Charles Veal, from RTPI HQ, had also kindly supported my day and managed to raise the first £50 for my Presidential charity, LINK, at a social session in the evening, kindly sponsored by Peacock and Smith Leeds planning consultants - for which, thank you!

Supper chez Wilbraham, then a breakfast the following morning - of tap water, bread and dripping - and back to Leeds Station, from where Richard drove me to Wakefield.
I have fond English Cities Fund memories of the City, where I selected and promoted what is now Merchant Gate - a major mixed use scheme between the railway station and the city centre, that is now under construction.



Of particular note is that, under Ian Thompson’s leadership, they have an approved core strategy, have DC workers transferred into the LDF team, following the drop in applications, seemed to have mastered the “other public stakeholder alignment” challenge and, most significantly, operating within a multi disciplinary department, were quietly using the LDF process to guide the community, sustainability, economic and investment strategies of the corporate plan.
This approach absolutely mirrors my personal aspirations for the LDF to eventually become the sole LA strategy for engaging the community – a one stop “continuing conversation” rather than consultation fatigue from multiple documents – and for a robust public and private investment framework.
All power to your elbow, Ian and team, and despite the rain, I thoroughly enjoyed seeing the fruits of your endeavour in many regeneration schemes on the ground.

Next, off to meet the unsung heroes of planning, those at the regional level in what has in Y & H been transferred from the Regional Assembly to “Local Government Yorkshire & Humberside.” Their planning team, led by Richard Wood and Chris Martin gave me a hard time on how those at regional level in RA or RDA felt forgotten by the RTPI and how regardless of what a new government might do, the regional strategic approach brought huge benefits to communities. We agreed that there was a need to find a language that demonstrated the rationale and outcomes of planning between local and national levels. I await their case and this issue will feature in one of my planning articles later this year.

Finally, back to Leeds for a round table discussion with over 20 heads of planning, academics and others from throughout the region, again addressed by Steve Q and myself. It was a frank exchange of views and it is clear that there are huge political and other pressures on those planners who operate at the coalface.
The academics also explained how the independence and thus status of some planning schools were being challenged by their being brought into multi functional departments. Steve and I were able to explain both what is on offer from CLG (Communities and Local Government) and the RTPI, and how we intend to continue to promote the essential benefits of planning and the need for strong planning schools.

I was particularly impressed by the commitment and stamina of our local authority colleagues. The RTPI must continue to use whatever influence it has, to sustain a properly resourced planning service in local authorities.

So, the end of my first regional visit... with a pint of Yorkshire bitter, before being dropped off at the station by Richard, who had arranged an excellent visit for me. I have to say that I slept most of the way back!

Martin Willey
2009 RTPI President

Robust discussions and greater understandings

The first of two meetings at Communities and Local Government (CLG) involved our bi-monthly session of co-operative working, where we were shown a map of local authorities’ local development framework (LDF) Core Strategy performance – not a happy picture.
Reasons vary from inadequate reflection of guidance, to political resistance, to problems surrounding the increase in housing, reflected in approved Regional Spatial Strategies (RSS), to lack of professional capacity. The reduction in Housing and Planning Delivery Grant (HPDG) – albeit from a much increased level over the next couple of years – may impact further on performance. However, the Government Office (GO)–Planning inspectorate (PINs)–Planning Advisory Service (PAS) regional task forces had been helpful. The Homes and Communities Agency (HCA) and Advisory Team for Large Applications (ATLAS) are also coming in with the expectation that major projects and infrastructure investment will require robust LDFs in place.

The second gathering was of 20 major and two sole trader consultant heads meeting Steve Quartermain, the RTPI team and me to consider more effective methods of engagement for what is now more than 50 per cent of the profession.
The meeting started off with some complaints, but ended with both gaining a greater understanding of the RTPI service offer and a framework for future co-operation with both CLG and RTPI. We will meet again in the autumn to monitor progress. I also hope to repeat these sessions, as part of some of my regional and national visits.

Next, a robust and healthy discussion with the Young Planners’ Steering Group – a baptism of fire for both Ann Skippers (next year’s President) and me. They are a lively and challenging bunch and our debate ranged primarily around why perceptions of planners are so negative. They came up with some good ideas, especially through the use of new technology techniques, such as blogs and twittering (lost me at this point, although my children are always accusing me of wittering on – is this the same, I wonder?)
The evening of 12th May was one of the most pleasurable events to date for me, as President, where I was invited to give the presentation at the 40 years celebration of the accreditation of London South Bank University’s planning course.
As a part time alumnus, who studied for the then RTPI external exams at, firstly, Brixton School of Building and then South Bank Poly, it allowed me the luxury of reminiscing about those wonderful teachers who laid the foundation for my planning career – Shean McConnell (theory), Tony Morris (history), George Chartres (design) and “Fitz” (economics) – never did find out his christian name but he had a brilliant teaching technique of bringing in a newspaper, often the FT, getting us to read and understand a story, then providing the economic theory behind it.

George, on the other hand, taught me to think and present in 3D, an early foundation for what became “place making”, once you added the people! It was great fun meeting past and present lecturers and students.

Next week, the first of my “proper” regional visits, Yorkshire and Humber, returning to one of my favourite parts of the country where youngest daughter Alex was born – in North Yorkshire.

Martin Willey
2009 RTPI President

Enormous convention in American city with a 'golden' boulevard

Having just about recovered from travelling back from Down Under, it was off to the final major international destination as 2009 President – the USA and the American Planners Association Convention.

This year, it was in Minneapolis – a north central USA city, where the temperatures varied from 40 to 84 degrees Fahrenheit!

This is a typical American city, with the grid iron layout, but with some interesting features, including one of the ”best streets” in the USA – a dual carriageway landscaped boulevard, with extremely expensive houses on either side! A trip around the city allowed us to enjoy the beauty of acres of parks and green corridors and Hiawatha Falls – pause for country song!

The Convention itself, as I had been alerted by previous Presidents, is enormous – 4,500 delegates, 1,000 workshops, seminars and plenary sessions – and I was able to present to a number of them, including about 1,500 audience, on “sustainable urbanism”.

It was interesting to compare the “performance” of different countries in dealing with the primary issues of today. I felt that the UK was well ahead on sustainable transport and trams, but some way behind other countries on addressing climate change.

However, we should correct this at our own Planning Convention and the launch of the RTPI’s “Planning to Live with Climate Change” strategy.

We clearly have a deep and effective level of regulation and public sector intervention in the UK, but are less successful in engaging our employers in planning-friendly philanthropy and corporate social responsibility.

One of the best sessions we went to was the Regional Studies Association session, chaired by RSA CEO Sally Hardy, where Sheffield University Professor Gordon Dabinett, MRTPI, spoke about “Mega Regional Spatial Planning”. He drew attention to the need to plan for some issues, such as the economy, transport and energy in areas that crossed international boundaries – not just regional ones. I hope we can use his expertise to devise RTPI advice to respond to the Conservative Party’s decision to remove English regional bodies.

Another memorable presentation was from Scott Shuford, of Onslow County, concerning Local Economic Development and Climate Change. Scott drew attention to fiscal, safety and migration consequences of climate change and, interestingly, the local consequences of a “Green Economy”, including effects on agriculture and, surprisingly, insurance! It demonstrated the need for planners to think and act laterally in addressing this issue.

The Global Planners Network featured, and we hope to announce details of future mechanisms for co-operation at the Planning Convention, to which I invite all readers of my blog to attend.

I have to admit to being a little travel weary, but the next few weeks will see me travelling around the UK on my National and Regional visits, so I hope to meet a number of you then.

Martin Willey

2009 RTPI President

Busy week has yielded many rewards

What a busy and rewarding week!

Rynd Smith, Tino Hernandez and I held three stakeholder briefing meetings with some really important players - on one day!

First we met David Curtis, Regional Director of the Homes and Communities Agency (HCA), who had asked to meet us, as the Director with responsibility for dealing with the RTPI (and other professional bodies).

This meeting followed the earlier meeting with Sir Bob Kerslake, mentioned in a previous blog. The conversation was wide ranging and covered the Homes and Communities Agency (HCA) accessing our Networks to deliver advice and for consultation; the HCA and Regions, in particular future links, regarding the delivery of HCA Regional Investment Plans; promoting Design Review Panels, a CABE initiative, funded by the HCA; and HCA engagement in my regional visits.

David has an exceptional record of both delivery of the revitalised town centre in Sheffield and co-ordination of all the public and private stakeholders in that process. It’s nice to have an MRTPI in his position!

We then met Huw Morris, Editor of Planning Magazine, to discuss our RTPI campaigns. We pressed Huw as to whether the RTPI pages might feature earlier in the magazine. He surprised us by saying that we were between the two most read pages of Development Control Casebook and the advertisements.
From a recent survey of their 23,000 readers, the RTPI pages had a reading level of between 55% and 60%!

Next, on to the House of Lords, to meet a long time friend of the RTPI, Lord Richard Best, as President of the Local Government Association, with Martin Wheatley, LGA Policy Director.

I’m sure the surroundings helped because we reached an understanding on a number of areas. This included increased co-operation between the LGA and RTPI, to promote Politicians in Planning Association (PIPA) membership to the LGA councillors and cabinet members; discussions with local authority chief executive officers on planning and co-operation on the promotion of Planning Aid.

The rest of the week included the Executive Board (ExBo), which had a huge agenda, upon which others will report, and one of the liveliest General Assemblies in recent years - discussing policy input to Richard Summer’s, Rynd Smith’s and the Planning Policy and Practice (PPP) Committee’s Planning for Climate Change paper that will be submitted to Margaret Beckett MP, the Planning Minister, at the Planning Convention in June.

Specialist groups of the General Assembly (GA) worked before, during and after the GA, to provide clear direction and best practice examples so that the document will provide a clear and wide ranging professional agenda and toolkit on this essential subject.

I also attended the Planning Convention Steering Group, chaired by Mike Hayes. The numbers are holding up well in the current climate, but more delegates would be welcome at the most important RTPI event of the year!

It will be even better this year, with several important policy and guidance papers being launched by the RTPI and others. Also, special awards are on offer, such as that for the Network securing the highest number of conversions of non-members to members, and the Region/Nation that secures the most Learning Partners.

Most importantly, Sue Percy’s quality check of all sessions will ensure that the highest standard of advice will be on offer.

Finally, both CLG and ExBo will be making themselves available to RTPI members for discussion on any issue that concerns you.

Martin Willey

2009 RTPI President