The Royal Town Planning Institute (RTPI) has welcomed the Planning Reform Bill.

The bill includes a right to be heard by any group that registers with the Independent Planning Commission (IPC) on a development. The Government has also stressed that the IPC will be autonomous and independent, except where the Minister think the National Policy Statement (NPS) is flawed or where it is urgent and in that case the Minister will make the decision. All NPS’s will be subject to parliamentary scrutiny.

In addition, there will be a change to the Town and Country Planning Act to speed up appeals.

Robert Upton, RTPI Secretary General, said: “The RTPI welcomed the Government’s commitment that National Policy Statements will be debated fully in Parliament before adoption. These are policy issues of great national importance, and they should be determined by MPs, ultimately accountable to their constituents.
“The introduction of the ‘right to be heard’ by an Independent Planning Commission is warmly welcomed. We agree with the Government not to include a right to cross-examination as the process needs to be manageable, and the IPC must be in control of it.”