Sponsored by Lord Gary Porter of Spalding CBE
The Surrey Development Forum hosted our autumn dinner in the House of Lords on the 30th November 2022. The event brought together forum members, leaders and senior planning officials from Surrey’s local authorities, Surrey MP’s and Government Ministers.
We were delighted to hear contributions to the discussion from the Parliamentary Under Secretary of State for Communities Baroness Scott and the Parliamentary Under Secretary of State for Local Government Lee Rowley.
The evening of open discussion and debate between stakeholders at the table highlighted several key themes and points of agreement, including:
- Local plan making conversations need to start earlier, doing so avoids misunderstanding and saves resourcing in the long term
- More housing is needed, however there is a misconception in the public domain regarding the green belt
- We all value that place making sits at the heart of these discussions, and new ways of engaging communities is needed
- We can expect planning reform next year, the government are willing to make compromises to ensure support for the Levelling Up and Regeneration Bill
The Surrey Development Forum will continue to facilitate communication between stakeholders and enable action for a thriving Surrey.
