Planning reforms are likely to result in appeals, a survey has revealed

It has been revealed that 90 % of Council-employed chartered town planners and 72% of private consultants agree or strongly agree that the Coalition Government's proposed planning reforms will lead to "substantially" more appeals in the short term, a survey by Planning Magazine shows.

Most of the respondents to the survey also agreed that "a shortage of staff at local planning authorities (LPAs) is a major constraint on timely decision-making", with 86%of council planning officers and 81%of private consultants agreeing or strongly agreeing with the statement.

Consultants and planners were also asked whether financial incentives to councils would speed up the delivery of development, with 21% of council planners and 33% of consultants in agreement that it would.

The survey, which was responded to by 116 private consultants and 354 council planners, found that the majority of both private and public sector respondents agreed that the Government should give a legal definition to the term "sustainable development" contained in the draft National Planning Policy Framework (NPPF). The majority of planners and consultants also agree that the abolition of regional strategies "is delaying progress on major projects".

Despite both sectors agreeing on many issues, the survey also demonstrated a strong divergence in opinion on several matters. When asked whether the draft NPPF puts too much emphasis on economic growth, 83% of council planners agreed or strongly agreed, compared to  just 19 % of consultants.

The divergence in opinion was also seen in relation to neighbourhood planning, where 37 % of consultants said that that it would give residents more control over development in their area compared with 17 % of council planners.

"It is a self-evident truth that inherent conflict between the localism agenda, with its focus on giving communities a greater say in what is built in their area, and the draft NPPF, with its emphasis on approving new development, will lead to more appeals," said Mike Holmes, president of the Planning Officers Society.