Responding to two-speed Britain

There was an interesting article in the Observer on Sunday which highlighted the gap in development activity and property market movement in London and the South East compared to the rest of the country. They pointed out that there were more cranes on the London skyline than the rest of Britain put together. This really raises the question of whether our current planning system is fit for purpose across the country. To date it is really only suited to either encouraging market-led development (where it can) or resisting development pressures (where they exist). This clearly does not describe great swathes of the country. In my forthcoming book I argue that there are alternatives using community-based development and management and thinking about the value that low-priced areas have for local communities. I present a number of reforms to the planning system that would support such an alternative approach. It is interesting to see that some of these overlap with some current government initiatives (although not the prevailing planning ideology which is firmly pro-market). I would point to the announcement of measures to re-use empty buildings, provide land for self-builders and put funding into high streets, sometimes through community ventures. These are clearly times of change and such change is not alway simple. Yes, the government are in favour of deregulation and promoting market-led development. Yes, they are weakening the negotiating power of local authorities through their reforms of planning gain. But there are also these smaller changes which perhaps are there because of the Localism agenda that could form the kernel of a different way of doing planning. What is needed is a broader programme of reform to build on this.