Planning failure jeopardises housing target

Thursday, 24 July 2008 12:46 AM

Weaknesses in the local government planning system make it unlikely the government will meet its housing targets.

Gordon Brown has pledged to build two million new homes by 2016, with a further one million, carbon-neutral, homes added by 2020 - but this is unlikely to come to fruition according to the Department for Communities and Local Government committee (CLGC).

The committee argues the volume and variety of tasks required between now and 2020 will prove to be an insurmountable burden on the planning system.

Furthermore, this failure could prompt a wider hindrance in the delivery of the government's environmental priorities.

Two key problems have been identified by the committee.

Firstly a severe shortage of planning officers is likely to affect over half of all planning departments by 2012 - a problem described as "chronic" by the committee.

Secondly, the officers who are in place are suffering from a widening skills gap.

"When we began this inquiry we intended to look at the skills shortage in modern planning departments but we quickly discovered the problem went further and that there was a shortage of planners themselves," said chair of the committee, Dr Phyllis Starkey.

"What is perhaps most surprising, and frustrating, is the fact that these shortages have been in evidence for well over a decade but despite numerous reviews nothing has been done."

In response the committee is calling for immediate action, including:

• Government action to raise the general status of planning within local government.

• Production government to produce long-term assessments of the number of people employed in planning and other key sustainable communities professions so that it can anticipate skills shortages likely to arise.

• More to be done to promote planning as a career, such as its promotion in schools or in advertising campaigns and a recruitment drive targeted at universities offering accredited qualifications in planning.

Commenting on the report, Royal Institution of Chartered Surveyors' (Rics) spokesperson Damien Cleghorn, said: "Despite review after review and recommendation after recommendation, labour and skills shortages have not been reduced.

"It is imperative that this situation changes if the government is to deliver upon its targets for housing, regeneration and infrastructure.

"As a start, the government needs to introduce more conversion courses for mid-life professionals who may wish to switch careers and a more comprehensive strategy for encouraging school leavers into planning.

"Failure to turn this situation around will result in the UK becoming a less competitive business environment, hindering investment in the local economy."

Chris O'Toole

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