The Positive Planning Conference will provide a unique forum for the discussion and exchange of best practice at a critical stage in the evolution of the planning system.  It will draw together the lessons from the work of ROOM's Positive Planning Unit and of the Planning Officers Society on best value, supported by DTLR.  Based on themed workshops led by some of the country's foremost planning practitioners, and with high profile keynote speakers, this will be a major opportunity to explore how practice needs to change in response to the agenda for reform set out in the Planning Green Paper.  The Conference is aimed at all who want to be at the cutting edge of planning practice.

Now available - Development Plans:  a positive approach
The latest in the series, Development Plans:  a positive approach, identifies 11 principles which underpin a positive approach to Development Plans including securing the continuous involvement of stakeholders; being clear and brief; being up to date and relevant; linking with other plans; and promoting a vision for the future.

Several of these link closely with the aims of the Planning Green Paper and should be central to the proposed new system of Local Development Frameworks and local action plans.  The Briefing Paper uses key points drawn from 19 case studies around the country to focus on fundamental questions such as 'How can development plans promote change?' and lists 8 key policy drivers.

Urban renaissance Rural Regeneration New housing on previously developed land Neighbourhood Renewal

Economic competitiveness Social inclusion Integrated transport planning Community planning

Set within the context of current PPGs and the Urban and Rural White Papers, the Briefing Paper systematically illustrates how the quality and production of plans can be improved.  The reference section also includes suggestions for further reading.

Copies of this and the first paper Defining Positive Planning (December 2000) are available from ROOM (price £10 each).

Coming soon - Providing Rural Affordable Housing:  Enabling dialogue with the private sector
This paper will cover findings of a series of 4 invitation only seminars held around the country to encourage dialogue between all those involved in the provision of affordable housing in rural areas.  Primarily aimed at generating debate and the sharing of best practice, the events also revealed strong regional variations in the application of PPG3 around the Country.  The events were commissioned by The Countryside Agency, and joint funded by the Housing Corporation.

The concept of positive planning received a further boost in December emerging as a key theme of the DTLR consultation paper on Reforming Planning Obligations, which states:

'The Government believes that planning obligations should be used in a positive way to help achieve our planning objectives.  We think that the current focus of the system, essentially on mitigating the impacts of development, limits their potential benefit.  We intend to use planning obligations as a positive planning tool...'

ROOM helped launch a report on Third Party Rights of Appeal in Planning earlier this month.  This presents the case for those other than the applicant and local authority to have a right to challenge a planning approval in restricted circumstances.  The research has been jointly sponsored by the CPRE, RSPB, ROOM, WWF-UK, Civic Trust, Friends of the Earth, TCPA and Environmental Law Foundation.  Copies of the final report are available from the ROOM (price £10).

ROOM's Neil Sinden will running a workshop at a conference on the Green Paper- people power and participation on 24th January being organised by the TCPA, in association with the RSPB and Friends of the Earth. For further details contact the TCPA on 020 7930 8903.

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