01.09.09
Planners slam Barnet Council’s proposals for “Ryanair style” planning system
The Royal Town Planning Institute has responded to the announcement by Barnet Council that it will introduce a faster planning process for applicants who pay an additional fee by warning that the proposals risk creating a “two-tier” planning system.
The RTPI believes that if it is accepted that decisions can be speeded up by securing greater resources through increasing planning application fees, then the planning profession needs to decide whether fees should be increased across the board. However, there are processes and variables in the consideration of planning applications – including effective consultation – that cannot be avoided by throwing money at them.
Matt Thomson, Head of Policy at the RTPI said:
“These proposals risk creating a two-tier planning system where wealthy developers appear to receive preferential treatment ahead of those who cannot or do not wish to pay an extra fee. The RTPI agrees that our planning system needs to be properly resourced but creating a system that seems ready-made for conflicts of interest and raised expectations among applicants of the success of their proposals is not the way to proceed. We need a debate about how to make the planning system work even more efficiently but this proposal will be seen by many as wealthy developers greasing the wheels of local government bureaucracy.”
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