Pressure on councils’ infrastructure is ‘excessive’

A study from the County Councils Network has said that the government should rapidly implement a new strategic planning model as part of forthcoming reforms to the system to closer align housebuilding and infrastructure in county areas.

The report puts forward new arrangements for to help ensure that local infrastructure is not overburdened by new housing development and could assist with the government’s levelling up agenda.

These ‘accountable strategic planning bodies’  – made up of senior councillors in a county area – can effectively plan for housing and jobs and ensure that infrastructure is properly planned for and financed to cope with these new developments, whilst taking climate and health considerations into account.

A survey of county authorities for the report reveals that two-thirds of those councils say the pressure on their local infrastructure – roads, health centres, schools, public services – is ‘excessive’ because of new housing development.

Strategic planning is commonly viewed as a more collaborative mechanism to encourage local authorities to work together particularly in county areas, where a county council is responsible for infrastructure across the whole county and several district councils are responsible for housing in their area. However, strategic planning has not been a formal part of the planning system since the late 2010s, and currently the only informal tool to encourage those councils to work together is the ‘Duty to Co-operate’ – which the government is looking to scrap in its planning reform agenda.

The CCN says that an ‘accountable strategic planning body’ should be set up across each county area which would set out a vision for their area, including testing locations for housing, economic growth, or larger regeneration, and then matching these with the right infrastructure.

Tim Oliver, chairman of the CCN, said: “The present fragmented system not only makes more difficult to build the right homes in the right places, but it does not allow us to properly plan for and finance infrastructure. As a result, many of us are facing severe pressure on our roads, health services, and schools because of development.

“With the government reconsidering its planning reforms, and ministers looking to agree several county devolutions deals across the country, there has never been a better time to implement strategic planning arrangements. Failure to do so could only intensify the pressures on infrastructure that we are all experiencing in our areas.

“Strategic planning provides the impetus to bring all councils and local leaders together to set out ambitious and deliverable visions for their areas, scoping out the right places for housing and ensuring that infrastructure is financed. Local planning operates best when everyone is working together, and strategic planning is the way to bring all of the pieces of the jigsaw together.”