The planning system is failing in its current form and urgent reform is needed in order to alleviate the current housing crisis.

One of the biggest issues is the politically charged arrangement of planning committees which results in decisions on planning applications that are based on politics and not planning merit. These local and emotive committee members often have as little as a few hours training before being allowed to determine planning applications.

Fundamentally, planning committee members in England are not required by law to have any planning training whatsoever. In Scotland, as an example, it is a legal requirement that committee members must have training.

The planning committee structure was established over 50 years ago and has remained largely unchanged since that date, in that time the rest of the planning system has changed beyond all recognition. When the current structure was established, submitting an outline planning application constituted red-lining a site and indicating how many dwellings would be delivered on the site, committee members largely commented on the principle of planning rather than detailed submissions.

Today, the same application requires drawings, documents and reports that can total thousands of pages. The system has changed yet the committee structure has remained the same.

Developers spend hundreds of thousands of pounds (often significantly more) putting together professional and technically complex planning applications that are ultimately considered by members of the public that have very limited or no planning training. It is virtually unheard of for members of a committee to have any planning qualifications and this needs to change if planning applications are to be properly considered. 

Too often planning committee members have no regard to the advice given to them by their qualified planning officers and overturn officers recommendations, this must change in order to enable the planning system to deliver a continued supply of private and affordable homes.

We call on the law to be changed to:

1. Require planning committee members by law to receive compulsory planning training before they sit on a planning committee.
2. Require at least 50% of the planning committee to have a form of planning qualification. 

Please sign and share this petition so that meaningful reform can take place to a failing planning system.