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Lancashire business experts gathered at the offices of HPA Chartered Architects in central Lancaster to discuss the latest announcement by the Government which could affect their industry and community. Parts of the planning system could be stripped away in an attempt to speed up the process which includes slashing red tape and unlocking land to build new housing as part of a ‘bold’ reform.
Lancashire Business View put planning under the microscope to look at what impact this planning revolution is likely to have in Lancashire. The issues discussed with experts included finding balance between urban and rural development, the management of heritage buildings, delivering transport and critical infrastructure and the challenges facing our town and city centre
Roundtable Guests
Roundtable guests included Deborah Smith – S&L Planning Consultants, Richard Woolridge – HPA Architects, Warren Bennett – James Places, Michael Bates – FWP Planning and our Director here at Site Surveying Services, Samuel Knott.
Warren Bennet of James’ Places stated ‘The Government has said there will be more planning officers but when you see the numbers they are talking about, it is nothing compared to the need.’
Similarly, Richard Woolridge, HPA added ‘…Planning officers. There’s a national shortage. The government has said it will create 300/ The Home Builders Federation has said 2200 are needed.’
Photo Courtesy of Lancashire Business View
From a Surveying Standpoint, Sam Added to the Discussion
The problem we face is speculative dates that are set. It puts real pressure on sub-contractors.
If someone comes to us and says ‘I want this survey doing in the next two weeks because I’ve got planning by the end of the month’ that might be achievable, but sometimes we get phone calls in the same week.
There is no consideration for the smaller sub-contractor. For example, we did a measured building survey of a particular unit. Behind the scenes there are 50-man days of drawing that up because there are floor plans, elevations, internal elevations. There are ceiling plans, service plans.
Skills are a national issue. We’ve had to take it upon ourselves to bring four trainees a year into the industry. If we’re struggling and we’re niche then where are the councils getting their next crop from? The shortage is throughout the system: planning consultants, heritage consultants, construction managers. It’s everywhere.’
Drawing to a conclusion, industry experts show the need for real reform and change in regards to planning and identified other areas for significant improvement. For Site Surveying, we are already taking some of these challenges head on. Tackling the National issue of Skills, we have implemented a Youth Programme dedicated to training the next generation of geospatial professionals.
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