EXPERT HUB – REPORT: PLACES AND PURPOSE The second report from The Purposeful Finance Commission

by: Inclusive Growth Contributor | on: 21.03.24 | in: Uncategorised

This new report by the Purposeful Finance Commission (February 2024) argues for privately funded
and independently administered fund to help councils clear planning backlogs. Backed by leading Combined Authority figures and institutional investors the report has recommended that the private sector contributes to a new fund designed to help councils clear planning backlogs and speed up the cumbersome planning process which is holding back regeneration schemes and economic growth across the country.

The ‘Pipeline Fund’ would be independently administered and provided for by a range of
organisations from different sectors with an interest in clearing planning backlogs and
increasing planning capacity at local authorities. Figures* show that only 21 per cent of
major applications were processed in the statutory 13-week deadline over the past year,
down from 57 per cent ten years ago.

The fund will aim to raise £22.5 million over three years, supplementing the Government’s
own Planning Skills Delivery Fund which aims to clear planning backlogs for major projects.
The idea of the fund is contained in the second PFC report, Places and Purpose, which also
provides a series of other recommendations to help local areas bring forward more local
regeneration projects:

● Establishing a ‘National Investment Register’
Investment data should be collected and stored on a central public register which
differentiates between public and private investment. Current ONS datasets are severely
limited and dated which makes it difficult for decision-makers to determine where
investment flows are heading. A more transparent and publicly accessible approach to
tracking investment data would provide a clear indicator of where developments are
coming to fruition, and which local areas are struggling to attract either public or private
capital.

● Implementing a ‘Placemaking Matrix’ to win over local residents
Larger developments with a value of £10 million or more should have to demonstrate their
purpose to the community in which they are being developed. This will help ensure buy-in
for local communities and help avoid cumbersome planning processes whereby
developers look to push through unwanted and ill-thought-out proposals. A defined notion
of purpose and ‘place’ should not be implemented to supersede or replace affordability or
environmental or other Section 106 commitments but rather to ensure developments are fit
for the communities they are in.

● Expanding devolution deals across England
Further devolution should be rolled out at an accelerated rate, providing single funding
settlements to empower local leaders to better allocate money according to their region’s
needs.

● Accelerate the phase out of bid-based local authority funding
Central government should accelerate the phasing out of competitive, bid-based funding
models as a matter of priority. Creating an atmosphere of competition, the funding system
should be amended to incentivise collaboration between local authorities. Doing so would
ensure that regeneration efforts across the UK can be conducted as a collaborative and
purpose-driven process, rather than one that pits communities against each other.

Read the full Places and Purpose second report here
[The first report from the Purposeful Finance Company, Investment and Infrastructure can be read here]