Sector experts welcome extra £48m in Budget to recruit 350 more planners

Combined with more staff being brought in to environmental regulators, the government said it will take the total number of recruitments across the system to 1,400 by the end of this parliament.

Jonathan Layzell, chief executive of Stonewater, said: “The chancellor has rightly focused this Budget on tackling the cost of living. It is the necessary precursor to improving economic growth.

“So often that growth begins at home, and we need to build many more. The announcement of £48m for 350 new planners is a welcome step to unblock the system.

“Taken with the £39bn Social and Affordable Homes Programme announced earlier this year, the sector is well positioned to support the government’s target of 1.5 million new homes.”

John Gregory, partner and planning lawyer at law firm Weightmans, said: “There’s no question that local planning authorities desperately need more qualified officers – the shortage has been undermining service delivery for years.

“The government’s funding for 350 additional planners demonstrates they understand the scale of the problem.”

Mr Gregory added that funding recruitment is only half the battle and it was “encouraging” to see that the government also recognises the need for stronger retention strategies through the new planning careers hub.

He said: “Without a clear strategy to incentivise talent to stay in public sector roles, we risk creating an expensive training programme that ultimately benefits the private sector consultancies that we often see planners, understandably, leaving for. 

“If Labour is serious about its housing targets, it needs to make local government an attractive place to build a planning career.”