PLANNING: ‘BACK TO THE FUTURE?’

The appointment of Michael Gove as grandee ‘Secretary of State for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities and Minister for Intergovernmental Relations’ suggested a centralised system to deliver the promises of radical Planning Reform; with the Government driving development targets, the Local Plan process, and deriving greater influence in development to empower ‘top down’ influence ‘to level up’. However, with Gove being sacked as one of the last pieces of defiance by outgoing PM Boris Johnson, and with the summer recess and brief tenure of Liz Truss resulting in stasis, plans were shelved.

But Gove is back under new PM Rishi Sunak. Same department, same role, but increasingly it appears a changed narrative. Are we going ‘back to the future’ with a new era of Localism? If so, how will this impact the property industry?

This session will explain:

• What reforms are now likely to be pursued under the Localism Bill
• Other key issues anticipated, including those around biodiversity and embedded carbon
• How this is likely to impact the development industry
• Practical approaches to working with a potentially locally-focussed system

Ian Anderson, Senior Director, Lichfields