Last updated on April 20th, 2020 at 11:39 pm
The Royal Town Planning Institute (RTPI) has recently published a report that calls for a more “joined-up approach to planning the UK's towns and cities” in order to meet international obligations on climate change.
Throughout the 55-page report, it outlines the importance of having a strong infrastructure that can keep up with ever-increasing demands from businesses and consumers. However, it points out that there is a disconnect between infrastructure and planning, where central and local governments aren't doing enough to ensure that new and existing developments are proactively addressing the issue of climate change; as such warning the government that the UK will struggle to meet its international obligations.
The report comes after the Chancellor of the Exchequer, Sajid Javid, announced more than £600m of funding for new infrastructure in his Spending Review.
James Harris, Policy and Networks Manager at the RTPI, said: “While we welcome more funding for infrastructure, politicians need to focus on more joined-up planning to integrate this into our villages, towns and cities. There is an urgent need to upgrade much of the country’s existing infrastructure so we can reach net zero carbon, respond to growing environment risks such as flooding and overheating, accommodate population and demographic change and enable sustainable development of residential, commercial and industrial space. The priorities of government and infrastructure providers are currently too focused on service delivery rather than addressing strategic and place-based challenges.”
Case studies from Staffordshire County Council, Cambridgeshire and Peterborough Combined Authority and Glasgow City Council, and a national online survey were conducted to identify the challenges faced by the government. These were carried out by the University of the West of England in partnership with Peter Brett Associates.
Ultimately, with better planning, communication, coordination, and more power to local authorities/councils, we (the UK) can achieve faster and more efficient results.
The RTPI was founded in 1914, where the body now holds 25,067 members across Europe, with the vast majority based in the UK. More information and a (free) copy of the report can be found on RTPI's website.
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