Analogue planning isn’t working – here’s why digital could deliver real gains

COMMENT The early response to the government’s planning white paper has focused on familiar issues, such as the impact on housebuilding and whether the new system will deliver more or fewer affordable homes. Personally, I like the move towards zoning; the strong emphasis on quality design both for buildings and places; and the aim to engage people earlier in devising local plans. There’s a big debate to be had about how to deliver these, but the direction makes sense. However, there is another radical element to the white paper. The government is planning to embrace digital planning – replacing documents with standardised datasets, creating a new online “civic engagement process” and creating map-based local plans, so people can visualise how their community might develop. Analogue planning isn’t working The current plan-making process is outdated. It was devised in an analogue era and much of the process is slow and subjective. Indeed, adopting a local plan now takes an average of seven years, by which time many of its policies are out of date. So a modern approach would be to replace locally-produced evidence and general policy documents with nationally-agreed datasets, delivering a digital map-based local plan with fewer, more specific goals. One element of this will be making the process transparent and accessible online, so people can see what the policies might mean to their street or village, through interactive digital maps accessible on their mobile device. This shift to digital planning could deliver real gains. It could involve more people earlier in local plan making, giving them a greater sense of ownership for the adopted plan. For councils it could deliver more up-to-date plans, involving fewer resources. For developers it could, along with local design codes, reduce the speculative costs of development. Change mindsets, not just IT However, to achieve all this will require not just a change in software or IT. It will need a change in the mindsets of both Whitehall and every town hall. First, Whitehall and local government will need to agree on their respective roles in creating spatial databases for demographic, environmental, ecological and other material information. It needs to be a joint endeavour, achieved through collaboration, and that will require real leadership from ministers, from the Local Government Association and indeed from the planning profession. This won’t be easy but if it is done jointly it will remove the risk of a protracted battle between national and local politicians. If matched by additional funding for the changeover it could be implemented quicker than many may currently expect. Second, the white paper envisages a new “civic engagement process” in plan-making. The existing process doesn’t work – for the public, for developers or overstretched planning officers. Consulting people about decisions already made isn’t good enough. They need to be involved in those early key decisions and the current protracted consultations take far too long. The government should adopt the principles of a charrette here – intense, time-limited meetings of all stakeholders to jointly decide on the key issues in a local plan. Technology would enable this to involve far more people and the production of visual, map-based data would make the process easier to access for most people. Digital tools could also enable people to vote on the main issues. The success of neighbourhood planning in recent years shows there is an appetite for informed, rounded discussions about the trade-offs in planning. Let’s build on this and harness technology to transform how we plan our communities.   Mark Prisk is a former MP and housing minister