Planning Top Trumps: UK vs The Netherlands
“In the Netherlands, planning is seen as part of the solution, in the UK, planning is seen as part of the problem” So said Clive Betts MP on the most recent edition of the 50 Shades of Planning Podcast . Clive is Chair of the Housing, Communities and Local Government Committee – a cross party scrutiny group that recently published an intelligent and even-handed analysis of the Planning White Paper . This comparison with the Netherlands comes up often, especially in the urban design circles that I move in. It exists in our minds as a planning utopia; a common destination for best practice field trips, much cited in case studies and frequently admired in industry press coverage. In practical terms though, how is it actually different? What does being seen as “part of the solution” actually look like in practice? I think it’s time to play a little game of Top Trumps. Resourcing An easy comparison. The 2019 RTPI Report “ Resourcing Public Planning ” highlighted that there are...