Today we sat down with Alex and Louise Jelley, who are Directors at Alpine Planning Ltd. We discussed how local authorities can properly resource planning functions to deliver on their large scale development and regeneration programs.

The key points we covered were:

• The importance of political buy-in, and how to get it
• Proactivity. Looking for solutions not problems. Problems are easy to identify. Getting over hurdles and finding answers is the tricky bit
• Dedicated resource to specific projects
• External support and funding (TCPA New Communities Group, for instance)
• Use of consultants – planning, landscape architects, transport, legal
• Planning Performance Agreements - mean the Council isn't paying over and above for consultants. It washes its own face! It can cover most of if not all of the ...