Protecting heritage does not always mean preventing change, writes Chris Hayward ahead of the publication of the City Plan 2040
Over the past few weeks I’ve had the opportunity to speak to politicians and business figures at all five major party conferences.
Whatever the political differences between them, there is now broad recognition that Britain needs to invest, build and compete more effectively if it is to raise productivity and living standards.
Closer to home, the planning inspectorate is about to publish its final report, and sign off, on our local development plan (City Plan 2040), bringing one of the most closely watched planning processes in the country towards its conclusion.
For the City of London, and indeed the rest of the UK, it’s significant because it will provide the framework that guides development in the nation’s most productive Square Mile for years to come.
Developers needs long-term certainty
Britain cannot increase productivity, attract investment or remain internationally competitive if major development is routinely held in limbo. Those businesses making long-term decisions need certainty, the investors committing billions of pounds need confidence, and the planning system has a vital role to play in delivering both.
The City’s plan has been many years in the making, undergoing multiple rounds of consultation, extensive scrutiny and public examination. Yet despite that process, uncertainty persisted and during that period, developers, investors and occupiers were left waiting for clarity.
Unfortunately, that experience is not unique to the City. Across the country, we hear the same concerns from businesses looking to invest. They can handle tough standards and requirements, but what they struggle with is unpredictability. When similar proposals can receive different responses depending on where or when they are considered, confidence suffers. Businesses can adapt to clear expectations, but they are far less able to account for a system where outcomes are uncertain and decisions do not always align with the published policy framework.
The best planning systems are economic accelerators. They give businesses the confidence to invest, developers the certainty to build and communities a clear vision of how places will evolve. When decisions are timely, consistent and rooted in a stable plan, capital flows more freely, homes and workplaces are delivered faster, and talented people can live and work where they are most productive. The result is higher growth, greater prosperity and stronger, better-connected cities.
But when decisions are slow, inconsistent or unpredictable, uncertainty increases, projects are delayed, costs rise and investment can go elsewhere. In that situation, the planning system stops being an enabler of growth and becomes an obstacle to it.
Balancing growth with heritage
Of course, planning is about more than economic development alone. One of the central questions considered during the City Plan process has been how to balance growth with the protection of heritage, and I believe passionately that London’s success has always been built on combining the two.
Around the Tower of London, that balance has been examined in exceptional detail and the independent Planning Inspectorate has found that we get that balance right.
The Tower of London sits beside a City that has evolved continuously for centuries. Heritage is one of our greatest strengths. It attracts visitors, investment and global recognition. But it does not follow that protecting heritage means preventing change.
The challenge for planners is to find a sensible balance and City Plan does exactly that. It supports the delivery of new, much needed commercial space where it can be accommodated, while maintaining strong protections for heritage assets, strategic views and the character of the capital.
At a time when some predicted the decline of city centres, London has remained one of the world’s leading destinations for business, finance and innovation. Companies still want to be in places with talent, connectivity and opportunity. The question is whether we will provide the space needed to support that demand.
In the Square Mile, we cannot grow outwards, so we have to grow intelligently, concentrating development where it is most appropriate, retrofitting and creating better public spaces, to ensure growth ambitions are working alongside the historic environment rather than the two against each other.
As the government rightly focuses on growth, there is an opportunity to learn a wider lesson from the City Plan process, which is that successful planning systems are not those that always say yes, but systems that project authority and confidence.
Confidence that decisions will be taken in a timely way. Confidence in planning policies and their clarity, so that developers and investors understand the rules. And confidence that growth and stewardship can sit alongside one another.
For the City of London, the publication of the Planning Inspectorate’s report will give us one of the most powerful tools we have to support economic growth, strengthen confidence and shape the future success of our cities.
The challenge now is to ensure the system can be consistent, nationally, to help deliver that ambition.
Chris Hayward is the policy chairman for the City of London Corporation