It’s almost a year since the government announced plans to build 1.5 million more homes by mid-2029.   

The ambitions are being supported by planning reforms and the release of green belt land, linked to a motto of “get Britain building again”. The programme of housebuilding is poised to bring about the ultimate goal of delivering the biggest increase in social and affordable housebuilding in a generation.

Whilst the business community has broadly welcomed a move to press ahead with the building of new homes, any new housing has to be provided with the necessary, or new supporting infrastructure to be in place.  This includes a sufficient supply of land for business use.

The drive to build more new homes will help to generate supply chain opportunities for smaller businesses, the heartbeat of our economy.   Whilst there will be plenty of opportunity for housebuilding to support economic growth, it’s clear that more needs to be done to try and address the bottlenecks in the planning system.  Delays in turning around planning applications act as a brake on investment.

In a bid to boost capacity in local authority planning teams, our British Chambers’ of Commerce (BCC) colleagues have launched an eye-catching new initiative, Planning Skills Fund, offering a route for firms, colleges, local authorities and central government to come together in partnership and at pace.

Many local authorities across the country are struggling to both recruit and retain staff in their planning teams.   The challenge of not having enough suitably qualified and experienced planners can lead to a backlog of planning applications and a slowing of investment ambitions.  Estimates suggest that fixing the problem could unlock £70bn in economic value.

Planning Skills Fund is a business led solution and aims to tackle the planning backlog by raising £3 million to train and upskill planners. This will make a vital contribution to boosting skills and capacity in the UK planning system.

Over the course of the next five years, Planning Skills Fund will help to meet the cost of 100 students to attain planning qualifications, administered by the Royal Town Planning Institute, as well as helping to upskill existing planning professionals. 

The Planning Skills Fund is a call to action for businesses to lend their support, alongside existing government initiatives, offering a rapid route to a rewarding career in local authority planning, removing those blockages and driving business growth.  

The Fund is seeking donations from businesses of all sizes, sectors, and UK regions. Aviva has already donated the first £500,000, but we need more businesses to help us in achieving our target.  

We’re asking you to donate. No matter how big or small, the more businesses invest together, the more planners we can train – and the faster we can help speed up the planning system and unlock growth.

If we don’t take any action, ongoing planning delays will lead to lost investment, lost jobs and lost opportunities.

If you would like further information about the Planning Skills Fund, click on the link:

Planning-Skills-Programme-v2.pdf

or send an e-mail to :

declan.riddell@staffordshirechambers.co.uk