As part of the Government’s drive to speed up the planning system, Housing and Planning Minister Brandon Lewis has recently announced his intention to simplify the Local Plan making process. He is following the tried and tested strategy of setting up a panel of property and planning experts to recommend a series of measures and reforms for achieving this. The panel is similar in make up to the one that created the first draft of the National Planning Policy Framework and their recommendations are likely to form the back bone of future reforms.

The panel has decided to invite views from the planning and property industry to inform their work. They have requested succinct submissions on the following topics:

- Content of Local Plans

- Local Plan preparation process

- Agreeing strategic requirements

- Implementation

- Observations

Iceni Projects recognises the influence that this process will have on the final series of recommendations and will therefore be making a submission as part of the ‘Call for Evidence’. A collaborative submission bringing together our experience with that of our clients will deliver the best results and we'd welcome your views and ideas for reforms. We've plenty to share with the panel but the reform agenda of the Government means there's always room for more.

Having just completed a secondment as a Policy Advisor at HM Treasury I have developed a good understanding of the types of reforms that the Government is likely to back. I will therefore be leading on Iceni’s joint submission and shaping the final content to ensure that it is more palatable to the panel and ultimately Government.

The deadline for submissions is Friday 23 October 2015. You can contact me on 020 3725 3856 if you want to discuss the submission or email me your comments to JSullivan@Iceniprojects.com.