English local authorities are focusing on allocating land for housebuilding at the expense of planning for business growth, according to new research.
A study by planning consultant Turley found that half of English authorities have employment land plans that are unfit for supporting economic growth and predate the introduction of the National Planning Policy Framework in 2012.
Turley director David Smith said: “The housing agenda occupies 90% of the airtime, but we feel employment and housing have to be given as much parity as possible, because you cannot plan for one without the other.”
The NPPF says that local authorities should build strong local economies by “ensuring sufficient land of the right type is available in the right places at the right time to support growth and innovation.”
However, in its survey of 326 local planning authorities, Turley found that more than half were failing to use up-to-date employment land evidence, while 57% of those that had adopted local plans were using out-of-date figures.
