A report by an international organisation of industrialised states has identified England’s green belts as a ‘major obstacle’ to development that should be replaced.
The OECD report, released in March, states, among other items:
‘The new government has launched a major overhaul of the planning system, replacing top-down building targets with incentives for local communities to allow development. In that context, setting the right level of incentives for local authorities is essential. In the light of often strong local resistance to new construction, it remains to be seen whether the incentives provided by the government, including the New Homes Bonus, will be sufficient to generate numbers of planning permissions compatible with increasing demand. The evolution of housing completions should be monitored very closely and the level of incentives revised if needed. After the recent removal of the regional level of planning, ensuring the continuity of strategic planning of infrastructure and public services is also crucial….
The system of vocational education should be simplified. A further focus on high–quality apprenticeships is warranted. Given that the government has abolished the education maintenance allowance, it needs to find alternative measures to efficiently raise incentives for participation for children from low income families…
Adaptation policies should initially focus on low–hanging fruits. There are significant uncertainties related to future climate change impacts and thus about precise adaptation needs. Adaptation policies should therefore focus on building adaptive capacity across the UK economy, with a focus on reducing market failures. The authorities should develop further an incremental approach to encouraging adaptation, protecting against near–term climate threats that are better understood while retaining options to respond flexibly to the evolution of risks and the knowledge base over coming decades. It is sensible to continue to focus on the appropriate provision of public goods, including information, better risk–assessment frameworks and more advanced metrics for monitoring and evaluation….’
The OECD report available here: LINK
Planning Resource Article: LINK
