The British Property Federation (BPF) has responded to a Government planning consultation, calling for greater weight to be put on the economic benefit new developments can offer communities.

Developers believe that promoting sustainable economic development should be a strong priority, given the effects of the recession. The BPF believes there are clear benefits for society through renewing and developing new business space and homes to support an expanding population. However, the BPF is concerned that planners will not pay enough attention to the merits of planning applications that create new jobs and economic growth.

In its response, the BPF says that planning policy statement 4 (PPS4) does not place enough emphasis on the benefits of economic development. The new PPS4 has been combined with PPS6 (which focus on town centre policy), but having combined them, the economic focus is not strong enough.

Liz Peace, chief executive of the BPF, said: “A good planning system must take account of the economic benefits of development. While we are very supportive of moves to streamline planning policy and reduce the number of statements, it appears that the benefits of economic development have become lost. Without it, proposed developments, which could bring jobs and investment to the local area, may not go ahead.”