Planning Masterclass

6 August 2012

The planning system has changed dramatically since 2011 when the Localism Act became law.

Friends of the Earth held a training day in Birmingham to share planning knowledge and expertise about the importance of planning.

Participants came from all across England to hear about how they can get involved in local planning decisions.

A new perspective

A local head of planning officer and a director from the planning inspectorate shared their valuable insight into what is required during each step of the planning process.

This included the need to produce clear evidence and to engage with planners.

The right policies

Participants learnt that it was vital for local councils to renew their local plans so that they will conform to the new planning guidelines.

Without doing so, the local plan will be less important. This could make way for unwanted and uncontrolled developments.

To tackle this, participants joined a series of workshops to discover what the right policies to adopt were.

Communities need to persuade their local authorities to plan for:

• Climate Change
  To map their renewable energy sources, helping other authorities cooperate and tackle climate change.
• Retail
  To create diverse town centres and support and increase local markets.
• Fracking
  To prevent the drilling and extraction of shale gas on pollution and climate grounds.
• Bees and Wildlife
  To create more wildlife sites in newly developed areas.

 It was a chance to reconnect, re-energise and remember [the] importance of campaigning on planning.