Planning for the Future

Yesterday, the State opening of Parliament confirmed the focus is on planning - "Reforming the planning system is key to unlocking our country’s economic growth" - and that the intentions are there to speed up and streamline the planning process overall.

This is no surprise. However, as anyone involved in planning or construction knows, the scrutiny that follows in the next few days will be a backdrop to reality: it always takes time for policy to filter down, it always take time to start building.

Whether it's construction itself, energy, transport, or even services and consultancy, the answer to all housing challenges has always been location, location, location. Most players today have already incorporated the use of specialised location analysis  as an essential element of their internal functions. But with climate change as the ever-present influence, the butterfly effect also means there's more pressure on every sector to deliver end-products that are planned with sustainability in mind - the insights have to be clearer, so that decisions can be made with more confidence.

We're not pushing a hard sell here. There have always been questions around what to build, where, and how, and brilliant location data definitely holds the answers. The trick now is to ensure enough stakeholders are optimising their own potential, and becoming true enablers of growth. While the new Bill opens a wide door through which improvements to the planning system are expected to be pushed through at a local level - 'modernising planning committees, increasing local planning authorities’ capacity to deliver an improved service' - that doesn't flatten the learning curve.

As part of the Idox Group, we're expecting new and ambitious players to explore the opportunities that now arise from a government with overt and ambitious objectives. We're already seeing queries from peripheral consultancies that want to secure an advantage, and are open to extending their own capabilities through partnership.