A new rationale for planning is required for delivering the public services, homes and jobs the nation needs according to Richard Wakeford, chief executive of the Countryside Agency
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Change is the Challenge for Planners in the 21st Century - 14 June 2001

High quality public services, alongside private investment delivering the homes and jobs the nation needs demands a new rationale for planning, beyond mere regulation, according to Richard Wakeford chief executive of the Countryside Agency.

Development plans should be an important tool for local strategic partnerships to which planners bring an crucial set of skills. All involved in local governance need to: 

  • embrace and drive positive change, making it a driving force not a threat;
  • following consultation on the options, set out a vision for their communities, with clear social, economic and environmental goals;
  • co-ordinate plans and proposals to deliver that vision, with the full commitment of public service providers as well as private sector developers; and
  • underpin all this with a new rationale for development control, which the Countryside Agency sums up as 'is it good enough to approve?'.  

Speaking at the Royal Town Planning Institute annual conference in Glasgow today (14 June 2001), Mr Wakeford said "Foot and Mouth Disease has brought farming to a state of desperation in many parts of the country and destroyed the self confidence of many rural communities. It has challenged complacent planning based on assumptions that the countryside could go on from generation to generation without change.

"New challenges are emerging in the restructured Government. Economic measures, planning and the environment all now fall under different Ministers. Planners, the planning system, and local government are in danger of being bypassed.

"Planners need to rediscover their traditional role of leadership based on a deep understanding of sustainable development, social inclusion and policy integration, or be condemned to a lesser role of merely regulating the work of others.

"Plans will need a new shape and a new vibrancy if they are to serve us well - or better - in the future. They must embrace all developments, public and private. And planners must then go on to make sure of implementation - by proactive encouragement of the developments communities need if they are to enjoy the fruits of better public services and private investments in the future. All within a high quality environment. "

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Notes to editors

The Countryside Agency is responsible for advising government and taking action on issues affecting the social, economic and environmental well being of the English countryside.