Professional Documents
Culture Documents
This manifesto
• summarises the RTPI's position on the leading issues facing planning;
• sets out what we believe should be the future for planning and details how these principles can be delivered;
• guides the RTPI’s engagement with all political parties leading up to and beyond the forthcoming general election;
• outlines principles for planning in the United Kingdom and across the world but with special relevance to planning
in England because this is a matter for the UK Parliament;
• will be supported in due course by manifestos for each of the UK nations with devolved planning powers to
address specific national issues;
• shows how a government committed to promoting economic recovery and wealth creation and addressing climate
change can enable communities to help shape better places to live and work through effective spatial planning;
• emphasises the opportunities for the RTPI and its members to help government develop a planning system that is
fit for purpose and keep it up to date;
• represents the long-term aspirations of the RTPI and the profession ~ it will be reviewed periodically to ensure it
remains relevant.
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Our vision for planning
The RTPI stands for planning that:
• identifies the needs and aspirations of communities at all levels from local to global;
• tackles the challenges of planning to live with climate change;
• determines the scale and type of development to meet community needs and aspirations in a
way that is sustainable, equitable and balances competing demands;
• manages the delivery of development from inception to completion;
• manages the integration of new development into existing communities;
• evaluates the success and impact of delivering development and learns from experience.
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1. Standing up for planning
4Effective plans can deliver important economic, social and environmental objectives and the needs
and aspirations of communities. Good planning integrates activity in a cost effective and joined up way.
4Planning has a crucial role in acting as a catalyst for economic recovery during a time of recession.
4Planning balances competing interests for the use of land, resolving conflicts between neighbours and
addressing relationships between land use and the environment, natural resources, heritage and people.
4It supports the economy by aligning infrastructure (such as energy supply and communications) with
economic development in the most effective way and by providing certainty for investors ~ not just
business investors but ordinary people buying their own homes.
4It protects important natural environments and heritage features and it safeguards the landscapes
and places we will value in the future.
4Planning enables communities to identify, protect and enhance the assets that matter to them to
retain the distinctiveness of their area.
4Planning is technical and based on complex legislation and practice but it is done for people and the
public good within a political environment: it requires highly skilled professionals who can understand
public needs to deliver results effectively in a balanced and equitable manner.
4Good planning requires and delivers a vision; ultimately the activity is all about creating and sustaining
places that are successful and enjoyable for their communities.
What we will do: The RTPI will campaign for governments at all levels to recognise that planning is the
essential mechanism through which their objectives can be delivered on the ground and it will ensure that
Chartered Town Planners have the necessary skills and expertise to meet these challenges.
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• We need plans above the local level to deliver development and infrastructure that crosses
administrative boundaries, but there is a lack of faith in the current system of regional planning.
• National Policy Statements need to be properly spatial.
• We need a national planning framework for England.
4Some enhancements could be made to detailed regulations, policy and guidance in order to respond
to new circumstances, address issues of practice and further simplify the planning system. Planning
is a complex activity but there is always scope to rationalise it, make it more effective and easier to
understand.
What we will do: The RTPI will support planners in making the system work more effectively by helping
to identify enhancements which could be made to detailed regulations, policy and guidance in order to
respond to new circumstances and to address issues of practice where such changes would simplify the
planning process.
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What we will do: The RTPI will continue to promote and deliver on its seven commitments for planning
to live with climate change to:
1. Promote behavioural change
2. Adapt existing places
3. Work towards responsive legislation and policies
4. Improve current practice
5. Celebrate best practice
6. Compile a compendium of best practice
7. Develop climate change education and skills
What we will do: The RTPI will work with government and Planning Aid England to lead moves to develop
a new relationship between communities, elected representatives and planning practitioners built on trust,
mutual acknowledgement of skills and knowledge and a rigorously professional approach.
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4Government must properly resource the planning system it expects to deliver so many of its
objectives, and it must fully support the planning profession that is committed to help achieve them.
4Improving skills, enhancing understanding and sharing responsibilities can be facilitated by forging
closer links between planning and other professions ~ this must be achieved not only by the RTPI but
also between departments in national and local government and between other agencies and businesses.
4Chartered membership is essential if proper planning practice is to take place and if the public are to
have recourse where lack of professionalism is suspected. Working with government and employers
to promote and recognise the value of the MRTPI qualification is essential.
What we will do: The RTPI is committed to the highest standards and to raising the skills of the profession.
We will drive forward this agenda by scrutinising accredited planning schools, monitoring members’ Continuing
Professional Development, encouraging best practice and providing opportunities for lifelong learning.
Planning ahead
Planning is about mapping a future vision. Planning decisions must be made on a rational basis in
the public interest. This needs plans which establish what the public interest is for the community,
of whatever size, covered by the plan. Policies and proposals should be driven by community
aspirations and a robust assessment of the evidence of need for development and the need to
safeguard important assets. Crucially, development plans enable policy options and development
options to be compared and prioritised at the same time, rather than adopting proposals out of
context at the planning application stage for single proposals.
The need for different types of development arise from and impact upon different sizes of
community: motorways and railways connect cities, hospitals may serve several districts, houses
cannot always be provided in the area where the need arises. We need mechanisms that allow us
to plan for these needs and co-ordinate them, at whatever geographical scale.
Such planning is all about the spatial relationships between housing, employment, environment,
services and transport and achieving wider objectives. Many important aspects of social, economic
and environmental policy have little variation between local areas and so it is right that some
policies and standards should be set at a national or sub-national level.
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6. Supporting national spatial planning frameworks
4The RTPI believes that each nation in the UK should have a national spatial planning framework to
provide a basis for efficient public and private investment in national infrastructure and development
and to coordinate statements of national planning policy and infrastructure policy.
4The national plan arrangements for Wales and Scotland, and to some extent for Northern Ireland,
have proved valuable in providing an identifiable policy framework for these nations although there is
scope for each to improve based on learning from the others.
4National Policy Statements can operate more effectively within a national framework.
What we will do: The RTPI will promote the need for national spatial planning for each nation within the UK.
7. Delivering infrastructure
4The regime for providing nationally significant infrastructure introduced by the 2008 Planning Act is a
major step forward in streamlining procedures for delivering much needed major infrastructure projects
in England and Wales and its principles are widely supported.
4The need to plan properly for major infrastructure projects should be fulfilled through national spatial
planning frameworks supported by spatial policies in statements relevant to the particular types of
infrastructure needed; this is necessary to link infrastructure provision with the wider aim of sustainable
development.
4The RTPI believes that local infrastructure that is needed to support development and to provide for
the quality of life of its users should be funded by the uplift of land value arising from development
consent. The need for such infrastructure should be supported by a fully evidenced and costed
infrastructure delivery plan.
What we will do: The RTPI supports the principle of preparing National Policy Statements for key
elements of national infrastructure and will continue to argue for a fully spatial approach within the context
of a National Spatial Planning Framework. It supports the principles of tariff systems or the Community
Infrastructure Levy, in conjunction with site specific planning agreements, to deliver local infrastructure.
Implementation of such measures must ensure that they work effectively, do not slow down land supply
and deliver an equitable return to the community.
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4There is a wealth of expertise and information currently held by regional planning bodies and it is
essential that this is retained for continued use whatever strategic planning systems are in place.
What we will do: The RTPI will promote the need to support localism with strategic planning at the
international, national and sub-national level to ensure the needs of wider than local community interest
are properly addressed.
What we will do: The RTPI is committed to supporting local councils in making local plans simple and
realistic ~ and then delivering them.
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10. Moving from development control to development management
4We believe that development management is the tool that enables communities to deliver their agreed
vision for their area. True development management is a seamless process that takes an identified
project through from inception to completion.
4Projects could be anything from a particular type of development, to the regeneration of an underused
site, to the enhancement of a historic area. The management of the development could include policy
making, site selection, master planning, detailed design, construction and monitoring development
outcomes.
4Different types of project and different phases of projects may involve different professionals working
in different disciplines but the principle of development management is a commitment by all parties
involved to see the project through. A prerequisite for this is a general agreement about the principle of
the project preferably expressed in development plan policy or an agreed planning brief.
4The shift to development management involves a culture change not just for local authorities but also
for the development industry, planning consultants, consultees and other stakeholders. It depends
upon delivering the identified policies and proposals of the development plan, rather than planning by
exception and appeal.
4The RTPI does not sign up to the caricature that development control was about saying ‘no’ and
development management is about saying ‘yes’. Good planning has always been about enabling the
right development in the right place and the right time and, equally importantly, preventing inadequate,
poorly located and untimely schemes.
4Development management requires a clear and simple process that facilitates and coordinates
engagement with other consenting regimes.
4Once a community’s interests are defined in its local plan, it is essential that decisions are taken that
deliver the objectives of the plan in order to ensure that the right development takes place in the right
place at the right time. Development management, backed up by planning enforcement, is the
mechanism that enables this to happen in a transparent and accountable way. A properly resourced
enforcement service is essential to maintain the integrity of the planning process and the community’s
expectations of it.
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What we will do: The RTPI is committed to a process that moves on from simply assessing development
proposals to a more pro-active approach that begins with a place-making vision, develops a plan to realise
it, supports those proposals that help realise the plan from inception to delivery, and is followed through by
effective enforcement.
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4Independent examination of development plans or proposals should be about seeking an impartial
view on the relative merits of different approaches, within the context of a plan-led system.
What we will do: The RTPI firmly supports the principle of an independent, impartial and expert body to
resolve disputes whether on planning proposals or development plans.
What we will do: The RTPI believes many policies and proposals ~ for example significant decisions on
the management of public services such as schools and hospitals ~ must always be assessed for their
potential spatial implications, supported by mechanisms such as health and equality impact assessments.
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13. Acting globally
4The RTPI is engaged with other international planning organisations to cooperate in the development
of responses to global problems such as those arising from poverty, natural disasters, rapid
urbanisation and climate change. Planning in the UK is world renowned and we export our planning
skills and expertise around the world. We work within the Commonwealth Association of Planners and
through the Global Planners Network to share experiences and best practice.
4Planning in the UK has also been significantly influenced by European legislation. Many directives such
as those for sustainability, environmental assessment and biodiversity have impacted substantially on
the UK planning process and resulted in challenges to UK prepared strategy and decisions.
What we will do: The RTPI will continue to work locally and on the European and global stage with its
partners around the world in order to address common problems facing human settlements such as climate
change, global urbanisation and inequality. It will also work to rationalise European directives affecting
planning.
What we will do: The RTPI is committed to horizon scanning and long term strategic planning to enable
a proper debate to take place and reasonable decisions to be taken about major, long term issues such
as food and energy self-sufficiency; the international consequences of global warming and climate change
such as large scale population migration; and investigating new models for economic recovery,
development and development delivery.
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The Royal Town Planning Institute: our mission
Everything we do is inspired by our mission to advance the art and
science of town and country planning for the benefit of the public.
We champion the role of spatial planning ~ planning that gives people
a real say in shaping the places where they live and work ~ and we
ensure that sustainability is at the heart of everything we do.
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The Royal Town Planning Institute
41 Botolph Lane, London, EC3R 8DL
www.rtpi.org.uk