Localism Event 2011
On the 11th October we held a highly successful event with senior executives from the housing, renewables and commercial development sectors exploring how the issue of localism is going to affect the industry.
The Event
We explored localism from the view point of all the major actors in the development industry. Richard Astle from Athene Communications introduced the event with a short summary of the speakers and the challenges ahead. David Bainbridge from Bidwells gave a detailed background on the Localism Bill and the National Planning Policy Framework and how this could be set to take developers in more uncertain territory with planning permission being judged very much on a case by case basis. Cambridgeshire ACRE provided speakers from Ely City Council and Mepal Parish Council who spoke on behalf of their respective large and small communities, both seeking developers to work with them to grow their communities sustainably. Paul Bywater from Larkfleet Homes presented on the exemplar consultation process they have undergone for the Hawksmead project; a 1,100 house development in Oakham, Rutland. Colin Goodrum from LDA Design commented on how good design is the bedrock from which the public can understand developments and developers must listen to the public, alterring their design to reflect the communities wishes as they gain more influence with the Localism Bill.
The key messages from the discussion with our audience of senior executives was that:
- Current ambiguities within the Localism Bill may make development much harder especially bring over the period where loose definitions in the bill are strengthened through caselaw?
- Communities are very often more pro-development than expected, but struggle to find a way of working alongside developers to create schemes that meet their aspirations
- In this current economic climate development is even more important to boost the economy yet it is unclear how this proposed legislation will make this happen.
- Everyone involved in development; from the developers themselves, their consultants, the planning authorities and the local communities must work together so that the required development is undertaken so that the growing population in the East Midlands area can thrive.
The attached more detailed report gives a more detailed account of the event including the discussion.
A work group will be formed from interested members of the event to tackle how we, as an industry in Peterborough and the surroundings, are going to face this change to planning policy.
Presentations
All of the presentation from our speakers are available for download in Powerpoint. Click on the company logos for each presentation.
This event was produced by Athene Communications in association with Bidwells and LDA Design. If you have any questions please contact Claire Gibbison at claire@athene-communications.co.uk.