RTPI
and
ROOM
recommend a merger
The Councils of the Royal Town Planning Institute (RTPI) and ROOM, the National Council for Housing and Planning, have recommended that the two bodies should merge.
Such a merger will be a clear manifestation of the RTPI's forward thinking - as expressed in its New Vision for Planning - combined with ROOM's reputation also for addressing a broad agenda in an inclusive way. The merger will create a new and stronger independent voice and a body that is more interventionist and broader-based and which has increased benefits for its widened membership.
To enable this to happen, the RTPI and ROOM are to set up three new active associations - with membership open to all - for those concerned with the creation of decent housing for everyone, for those engaged in community planning and for elected members.
Welcoming the merger, RTPI President Michael Haslam said:
"There can be no better time for two such influential bodies to move towards a merger. The recent Ministerial announcements showed the importance that the Government places not only on planning, housing and neighbourhood renewal but on involving all those who are concerned with these key issues. The joining of ROOM with the RTPI will create a new, high profile and dynamic body that can contribute solutions to the problems facing this country."
The Chairman of ROOM, Don Alder, is equally enthusiastic:
"This agreement will result in a real and lasting effect on policy and practice. The new national emphases - on improving the planning system; on delivering housing for all; and on making a real difference in neighbourhood renewal - all call for a strong and independent voice. Working together, ROOM and the RTPI can provide new ways of thinking, encourage more effective practice, and involve all those who are working on and care about these issues. We see this move as bold and exciting."
Prof. Kelvin MacDonald, the Director of ROOM, stresses the importance of ensuring that there are real benefits for each organisation's members.
"We believe that we have arrived at an agreement that will retain the best of ROOM's work and fuse this with the progressive thinking evident in the RTPI to create a new body with shared beliefs and a commitment to change which will be reflected in improved activities and increased benefits for all our members."
Whilst the details of a full merger are being finalised, ROOM is to work jointly with the RTPI, using the working title of ROOM@RTPI, and is to share the RTPI's offices in the City of London.
- The RTPI is the professional body in the United Kingdom chartered to advance the science and art of town planning in all its aspects (national, regional and local) for the benefit of the public.
- It has a membership of over 17,500 who work in local and central government, planning education, research and private practice.
- ROOM was formed in 1999 from the merger between the Housing Centre Trust and the National Housing and Town Planning Council. ROOM aims to improve the contribution of housing and planning to the social, physical and economic regeneration of local communities.
- It has a membership of some 600 organisations and individuals drawn from housing associations, local government, partnership developers, community groups, the housing construction industry, consultancies and academia.
- Both organisations share a common heritage. ROOM's origins lie partly in the Housing Reform Council, founded in 1900, which piloted the 1909 Housing and Town Planning Act through Parliament. The RTPI was formed in 1914, with a number of key individuals involved in the development of both organisations.
- From the first week in September 2002 ROOM staff can be contacted at the RTPI's offices:
41 Botolph Lane
London EC3 8DL
Telephone: 020-7929 9494
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