Overview

Since our last review in January, the Conservative Party has released their Green Paper on planning. The paper was launched on 22 February 2010 in ample time for the UK General Election, which is now due to take place 6 May 2010. We reported in November 2009 that organisations like the British Property Federation were cautiously positive about the Conservatives’ plans to boost localism within the planning system.

The answer to the perceived problem within the current system is, according to this paper, a “reboot” or overhaul of the entire planning system which is labelled as “Open Source Planning”.

The aim of Open Source Planning is twofold. Firstly, to restore democratic and local control over planning system; second, to rebalance the system in favour of sustainable development; and, finally, to produce a simpler, cheaper and less bureaucratic system.

The paper contains a large number of ideas and here we highlight the key proposals. Please click “view briefing” to read more.