New analysis from the Royal Town Planning Institute (RTPI) finds responses to local plan consultations are equivalent to 0.56% of local authority populations, with the Institute warning that low public participation could undermine trust in planning reform.
The finding suggests that most people are not taking part in formal conversations about the future of their local area, despite local plans shaping the location of homes, high streets, schools, parks, roads and railway stations.
The analysis is published alongside a new white paper, Communications in planning: How better engagement can build trust with communities from the RTPI and its member magazine The Planner. The report argues that planning authorities need to communicate clearly, engage early and reach beyond the people who already participate in planning consultations.
A previous RTPI survey with YouGov found that 33% of the British public did not know how to get involved in the planning process, while 39% felt their participation would not make a difference. The same polling found that only 7% of the public had engaged with the planning system.
However, earlier research supported by the RTPI and delivered by Demos, The MIMBY Majority, found that 63% of the UK population would accept development under certain conditions.
The white paper warns that the challenge is becoming more urgent. Changes to the National Planning Policy Framework could mean every English local authority will be required to have a local plan in place within 30 months.
Without better engagement, the RTPI said, decisions risk feeling more remote, more opaque and more vulnerable to mistrust, misinformation and public opposition later in the process.
Simon Creer, Director of Communications and Engagement at the RTPI, said: “Planning, no matter where it is done, relies on proper communications and consultation. The public expect their voices to be heard. But there is an emerging feeling that planning is something that is done to people, not with them.
“There is a real risk that changes to the National Planning Policy Framework, as well as the additional layer of spatial development strategies, will add to this. The communities being consulted will be larger, the decisions more opaque and further away. Many people may not even be aware of which combined authority they are in, let alone be motivated enough to engage with planning at that level.
“Taken all together, we can see a system that will require more engagement, more communication and clearer explanation of what the system does and does not do. If we are to bring the more positively inclined communities along with us and make this system work, then there is a large job of work to be done.”
Robin Hutchinson, Director of The Community Brain CIC, said: “I’m not sure we should be overly surprised by the low figures of engagement currently experienced through formal and traditional routes. The language used and approaches taken can be a turn off even when if it does come to people’s attention. Conversations need to be brokered earlier and in different ways so they are not directly linked to the need for specific responses.
“Create events and moments that allow people to talk openly about their area, their thoughts, concerns and hopes. Make space for them to tell their stories. You will find more insight and information from someone in this atmosphere than ever through a ‘consultation’. We are always delighted by how open and ambitious people can be about where they live.”