Public-private entanglements: consultant use by local planning authorities in England

ABSTRACT

Despite intermittent recognition of the input of private planning consultants in the UK planning system, there remains a paucity of empirical studies into their roles and influence in contemporary practice. Drawing on interviews with both public and private planners in England, this paper explores the nature of the public-private entanglements that increasingly define local planning practice. These include the heterogeneity of the consultant market, the rationales employed to justify consultant use, the nature of the expertise being deployed, and the asymmetrical nature of public/private relationships. The paper argues that the demands made on the public planning system and the planners that operate it are driving teleological explanations of the use of private expertise, displaying an ambivalence to the fact that Local Planning Authorities are in a position of critical dependency with private sector consultants. In concluding, it is argued that the knowledges that underpin planning practices are increasingly shaped by the market, with the potential to undermine planning’s public interest purpose.

KEYWORDS:

• Plan-making
• local plans
• private sector
• consultants
• consultocracy

Disclosure statement

No potential conflict of interest was reported by the authors.

ORCID

Gavin Parker http://orcid.org/0000-0003-3079-4377

Notes

1 Private actors, particularly larger consultancies, also play a significant role in shaping the planning system not only through practice, but through governmental policy reviews, involvement in influential committees and reports and through lobbying activity.

2 To be adopted, Local Plans must pass an independent examination that determines whether the plan has been prepared in accordance with legal and procedural requirements, and if it is ‘sound’ (tests of soundness are set out in the NPPF). The process is dealt with by the Planning Inspectorate, an executive agency sponsored by sponsored by the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government (MHCLG) and the Welsh Government. The planning inspector considers the evidence provided to support the plan and any representations made by local people and other interested parties. Typically the examination will include hearing sessions which are held in public. The Inspector reaches a judgement about whether or not the plan should be adopted, typically making recommendations concerning necessary changes.