Truss’s levelling up ambitions undermined by decades-long resourcing fall in planning system 

Housing and levelling up ambitions outlined by Liz Truss before becoming Leader of the Conservative Party would be undermined by a lack of resources to the planning system, says report from the Royal Town Planning Institute (RTPI).

The report shows that Local Authority spending on planning has fallen by 43% in the last decade, now taking up just 0.45% of local government budgets.

Public sector planning services struggled to recruit and retain skilled staff as a result. With a stripped-back planning system, less than half of applications were decided within statutory time limits in 2021.

Victoria Hills, Chief Executive of the RTPI said, “During her race to Prime Minister, Liz Truss pledged to double down on levelling up and spark a new industrial revolution. But she’ll need to make immediate progress with planning reform in her first weeks in office if she wants to achieve these goals.

“I have today written to the new Leader of the Conservative Party urging her to make planning reform a top priority and deliver for communities. While we agree with Liz Truss that our planning system is imperfect, complex and faces significant challenges, planners cannot be expected to do more with less in perpetuity. Particularly in a time of high inflation, we need a timely responsive planning service, but this can only be achieved if it is appropriately resourced.

“Planning is one of the most important functions that local authorities have to improve resident’s lives. Without better quality planning services, communities will miss opportunities to level up, deliver vital housing, improve health outcomes and tackle climate change.”