Planning magazine recently published an article (Scene Set For Cuts 28 May 2010) that looked at the implications of reducing the number of local authority planners nationally and in the North West in particular.  Planning by it’s nature looks ahead and in times when frontline services in health and education need to be protected it can seem inevitable that less visible activities come under scrutiny, vacancies left unfilled, teams restructured and opportunities for training and development left hanging.

Nothing new here - it is all too easy to spot the effect of previous recessions on the region.  Only a few decades ago eagerness for investment gave the Northwest a multitude of poorly designed, inflexible and inappropriate development often on key sites that remain to cast their bulky shadows across future generations.

Places Matter! works consistently with local authorities across the Northwest to provide free and independent design support through the Northwest Design Review Service and the Skills & Training Programme.  The region has many committed and informed planning professionals working on long term change often in fragile economic circumstances.  Whilst we have ongoing relationships with 38 of the 42 local authorities in the region, the local teams in each authority contain an enormous body of knowledge and experience and deserve support if poor quality design is not to resurface.  As our research* has demonstrated bad design will cost us all.

*Economic Value of Good Design 2009