New Housing Minister writes to RTPI President supporting profession, ‘… in particular those… in local authorities across England’

image: Matthew Pennycook –  Attribution 3.0 Unported (CC BY 3.0) licence

New Housing Minister Matthew Pennycook has written to Lindsey Richards, President of the Royal Town Planning Institute to convey a clear message on behalf of government to professional planners – and in particular those serving in local authorities across England.

Matthew Pennycook writes:

….

The Deputy Prime Minister and I have enormous respect for the planning profession. For my own part, I have seen first-hand the positive impact of your vision and leadership; your engagement with local people; and your collaboration with colleagues across disciplines.

I therefore wanted to write to you, as President of the Royal Town Planning Institute, to convey a clear message on behalf of Government to professional planners – and in particular those serving in local authorities across England.

First, we fully recognise the critical role that planners and related professions, working hand in hand with elected members, have and will play in unlocking the growth the country needs. Second, I want to take this opportunity to acknowledge that many of the reforms we set out yesterday represent significant change, which will require leadership and professional commitment. The Government knows how important it will be to bolster capacity and capability in planning departments up and down the country, which several of our proposals are designed to address – including increases in planning fees and placing more trust in planning officers.

As the Deputy Prime Minister said yesterday, ‘skilled, professional planning officers are agents of change and drivers of growth, playing a crucial role in delivering the homes and infrastructure this country needs’. I look forward to working with you, and the whole profession, in the months and years ahead…

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