Report calls for reforms to planning and land use

Planning Resource, 26/02/2010.

The UK must fundamentally reform the way it plans and manages land to meet the challenges of the 21st century, according to a government report today.

The government’s chief scientist John Beddington said while planning and land-use management had served the country well by preventing urban sprawl, these systems dated back to the middle of the 20th century and needed to be reformed to meet the challenges of the next 50 years.

"Business as usual is not an option over the long-term," he said. "Without being smart about how land is used, we risk missing targets. The effects of climate change and new pressures on land could escalate, seriously eroding quality of life."

The study by Foresight, the government’s futures think tank, predicts severe pressure on water supply, biodiversity, carbon sinks and urban green space.

Climate change, an ageing population and the low-carbon agenda will present the major challenges for the next 50 years.

The population is expected to increase by nine million by 2031, the study predicts, with the South East projected to have 39,000 extra households a year compared to the North East’s 8,000 a year.

Climate change is expected to result in significant reductions in river flows and groundwater recharge amid general patterns of rising demand through to 2050.

By 2020, increasing population and housing growth will increase demand for water by five per cent.

The study says the land system will be increasingly influenced by global and domestic market pressures, making it crucial to ensure public goods and services from privately owned land – clean water, flood risk and biodiversity – are encouraged and delivered.

Huw Morris, PlanningResource, 26 February 2010