As local authority planners braced themselves for the biggest shake-up in the history of their profession, industry figures attacked the government for not committing the cash to introduce the new procedures.
Judith Salomon, head of property at London First, said: “The reforms require developers to have faith in local authorities to produce a better service. But the government hasn’t really tackled the most important part of this, which is getting the proper resources for planning.”
Consultant Ove Arup has been appointed by the government to investigate resourcing within the planning system and is due to report its findings early next year.
Private-sector planning consultants are already gearing up for an increase in workloads.
Kevin Gleeson, of Lambert Smith Hampton, said: “This is much more radical than I had expected and there will be a lot of opportunities for consultants to advise both local authorities and the private sector on what these changes will mean.”
