The Landscape Institute welcomes the government’s ambition to take a more strategic approach to planning with its updated National Planning Policy Framework (NPPF), but change must not come at a cost to nature and local communities.
The Landscape Institute welcomes the government’s ambition to take a more strategic approach to planning with its updated National Planning Policy Framework (NPPF).
Encouraging the development of the new housing and infrastructure the UK needs is the right move, but the new ‘growth-focused’ NPPF must not come at a cost to nature and local communities.
A focus on mandatory local plans could be beneficial, but only if local authorities have the imperative and resource to address how they integrate with green infrastructure networks, local nature recovery strategies, and landscape character.
Prioritising brownfield and grey belt land for development within green belt areas is correct, but the proposed ‘golden rules’ should recognise that tangible Environmental Net Gain and ecosystem service provision must be achieved across each designation.
Carolin Göhler FLI, President, Landscape Institute, said:
“The Landscape Institute called on this government to take a strategic approach to planning reform, and the updated NPPF is a step in the right direction. But it does not go far enough as a tool to embed nature recovery and climate resilience into new developments.
Engaging landscape professionals early within local planning authorities and the private sector will help to drive a holistic, joined-up approach, and implement the updated NPPF and new local plans to their best effect.
Landscape professionals are essential for evaluating the multi-faceted nature of all new developments, and ensuring that economic objectives are balanced alongside positive outcomes for people, place and nature.”
See the Landscape Institute’s ‘Landscape policy agenda for people, place and nature’ here
