NALC welcomes streamlined planning design guidance

We have welcomed the government's proposals to streamline planning practice design guidance, saying the changes should make the guidance clearer and easier for communities to use.

In our response to the government's consultation on changes to planning practice design guidance, we said that bringing the material together into a single Design and Placemaking Planning Practice Guidance (PPG) document would improve clarity and accessibility compared with the current system, where relevant guidance is spread across four separate documents.

On balance, the streamlined guidance will be easier for parish and town councils and communities to understand and apply in practice. It is particularly important for parish and town councils that are actively involved in neighbourhood planning and shaping development in their areas.

Our response reiterated our strong support for neighbourhood planning, which it said has significantly expanded community participation in the planning process. The new consolidated guidance will be especially helpful for parish councils preparing neighbourhood plans that include local design codes or additional design guidance.

We also urged the government to ensure that the draft Design and Placemaking PPG reflects the core principles of the Building Better, Building Beautiful Commission throughout the guidance. It argued that these principles remain important for delivering high-quality, well-designed places that meet the needs of communities.

In some areas, parish and town councils are directly involved in developing community-level design codes or templates to complement wider local authority codes. We therefore emphasised that the guidance must be as simple and user-friendly as possible so that parish and town councils and communities can engage effectively with the design process.

We also stated that the streamlined approach should make it easier for parish councils to navigate planning guidance and play a meaningful role in shaping well-designed places through neighbourhood plans and local design codes.