New guide focuses on achieving higher levels of community infrastructure through participation in planning

The Town and Country Planning Association (TCPA) has published ‘Planning Community Needs – A guide to effective Section 106 agreements & Statements of Community Involvement. The guide, part of the Future Planning project, is the outcome of a collaboration between the TCPA, Rayne Foundation, Ethical Property Foundation and Royal Town Planning Institute (RTPI).

Focusing on how to deliver higher levels of community infrastructure through participation in spatial planning, the guide, researched and written by consultants Colin Buchanan, aims to help planning practitioners and developers deliver better quality development that meets the needs of the voluntary and community sector.

TCPA Chief Executive Gideon Amos said:  'It is widely accepted that community participation is a key ingredient in the delivery of good planning outcomes. Not only a statutory requirement for Local Planning Authorities (LPAs) to consult on planning policies for their areas, it can assist in the identification of local needs and problems, inform policy-making, and provide feedback on service delivery while at the same time fostering a sense of local ownership and civic pride. However, in practice, effective community involvement in the planning process is often neglected and the benefits remain unrealised. This Guide identifies how to improve local authorities’ Statements of Community Involvement (SCIs) to deliver more effective engagement in planning. '

A key recommendation of the research for Local Planning Authorities (LPAs) is that Statements of Community Involvement (SCIs) should be focused on their users, and need to be clearly written, practical and usable.

RTPI Policy Director Rynd Smith:  'Communities have little interest in the mechanics of the planning processes that meet their needs such as the Community Infrastructure Levy (CIL), SCIs or section 106 agreements. They want to know which of their apparent needs can be met through planning. Developers are interested in a clear diagnosis of community needs that they can lawfully and reasonably be asked to meet. Both are interested in receiving advice from planners who can ‘bust the jargon’ and help to identify better outcomes. By providing that clear message and mapping the beginning of the route forward through these technical changes, this report makes a valuable contribution. '

The implications of the Community Infrastructure Levy (CIL), a form of statutory tariff or ‘roof-tax’ which is currently making its way into legislation through the Planning Bill, is examined in this study. A key finding is that whilst tariff-based charges are an efficient means of delivering funding to physical service infrastructures, they tend to be less good at providing for ‘softer’ infrastructures that serve needs identified by communities.

Hugh Roberts of multi-disciplinary planning consultancy Colin Buchanan, who were commissioned by the TCPA to undertake research for the guide, said:  'At a time when we all need to be thinking about ways to make planning more effective, this study helps planners to think about the potential balance between policy-based and individually negotiated section 106 agreements and eventually CIL. Through a combination of literature and policy review, stakeholder research and case study investigations, the guide provides information, best practice and recommendations on how to deliver community benefits effectively. '