Latest News

Complaints Review Service for planning - 26/02/10

TRA has provided consultancy services to local planning authorities for many years, with a particular emphasis on improving management, performance and procedures, mainly through our reviews of development control and online procedure guides. A relatively new extension of our work in this area is a "complaints review service".

The service aims to assist local planning authorities who are currently dealing with a complaint (either internal or external) or who need to review a specific procedure or set of procedures in the aftermath of a complaint. Sometimes, it may not be appropriate for the matter to be reviewed internally, either to ensure transparency or simply because there is a lack of knowledge about planning procedures elsewhere in the authority.  Similarly, it may not be something that the Local Government Ombudsman will wish or be able to investigate. Yet, in order to maintain the integrity of the LPA, and provide peace of mind for the local community, a review is needed to help prevent a repetition of the problem.

Complaints often relate to questions of procedural flaws, mismanagement, or even misunderstanding of planning law. TRA has the expertise and experience to recognise/diagnose any or all of these, and our knowledge of both planning procedures and local government practice means that we are uniquely placed to offer an informed yet impartial service which will provide robust and realistic recommendations.

If you are currently dealing with a complaint or need to review matters following a complaint, please contact Penny O'Shea, without obligation, to discuss how we might be able to assist you.

Planning for non-planners - 26/02/10

With our extensive experience and expertise in the planning process, TRA is ideally equipped to explain the "mysteries of the planning system" to non-planners who regularly interact with the system. A better understanding of the basic principles would help many to engage more effectively with the planning system and an increased understanding amongst those proposing developments and other stakeholders will be key in the move towards Development Management.

We can provide contextual briefings on planning (along the lines of "An Introduction to Planning") to suit specific audiences, including:

  • Building Control staff
    There can be a lot of overlap between planning and building control, particularly if both regimes are dealing with the same site and it can be of real benefit to the authority and the individuals concerned if Building Control staff have an understanding of the constraints of the planning system and what can and cannot be taken into account by planning officers when making a decision.

  • Housing Associations
    Training would be suitable for all staff in Housing Associations, but especially senior staff and those on the development side. To many involved, even those with a lot of experience, the system operates in a rather “mysterious” fashion. The session would aim to demystify it, and to assist Associations relate to it more effectively and more productively, in order to achieve their objectives more completely and more quickly.

  • other organisations which interact with planning eg as consultees, major landowners etc.

We also offer training on a variety of topics for Agents and Applicants. Many local authorities have established liaison arrangements with local agents and regular applicants and already run, or would like to run, briefing and training sessions so that they can understand aspects of the planning system better and be more effective in their engagement with it. TRA can put its experienced training team at the disposal of local authorities to carry out this kind of briefing session, thus eliminating the need for time-consuming preparation on the part of busy local authority staff, and also guaranteeing a professional presentation by people familiar with briefing others on the planning system at the local level.

 If you would like further information on any of these training options, please contact Angela Holmes.

Certificated Management Course - amended dates - 26/02/10

To better suit the needs of students currently on our Certificated Management course running at Cambridge, we have made some changes to the order in which the next few modules will run.

As originally planned, the next module to run will be Negotiation Concepts and Skills, in May and June 2010 (and there are few places still available). After that, the order will be:

Further details on each module can be found using the links above. If you would like any more information on any of these modules, or on the certificated programme as a whole, please contact Shelagh Pooley.

TRA responds to consultations - 25/02/10

TRA regularly responds to consultation papers issued by central government and other organisations. The combined experience and expertise of TRA and all its Associates and Presenters makes us ideally qualified to comment on proposals for change in relation to the planning system.

The most recent consultations we have responded to include:

  • CLG's paper on PD rights for small scale renewable and low carbon energy technologies and electric vehicle charging infrastructure, and
  • the Scottish Government's consultation on Proposed Amendments to the Councillors' Code of Conduct.

We recently began publishing our responses in the Advice and Opinion section of our website, under Consultation Responses, for you to view.  There are several already available, including the latest two mentioned above, and we will add future responses as they are produced.

Madingley News / Technical Membership of the RTPI - 24/02/10

Madingley News is a regular section of ENews, which offers a way for people who have taken part in TRA's Certificated Courses to keep in contact with us and each other. We are keen to keep in touch so please let Shelagh at TRA know if you have any news.

Congratulations to Dave Smith from Daventry District Council who has recently been elected to Technical Membership of the Royal Town Planning Institute. Dave was awarded the Certificate in Planning Enforcement in August 2009. Technical Membership recognises the contribution made by skilled and experienced enforcement, technical or administrative staff to planning, and those elected to this class can use the designation "TechRTPI" after their names.

Emailing Shelagh to tell her the good news, Dave says, I have just been notified that I have been elected as Tech Member RTPI. I feel this is in no small part due to the excellent enforcement training headed by Vivien Green and supplied by TRA. Please accept and convey my thanks for all the good works from all at TRA, not least yourself always being available and willing to assist with all enquiries.

We are aware that several other students from the enforcement programme have gone on to achieve RTPI Technical Membership (and we have included the details in previous newsletters) but we are currently trying to develop a definitive list.  If you have been awarded the Enforcement Certificate and are now "TechRTPI" please do let us know as soon as you can - contact Shelagh. 

Information on Technical Membership is available on the RTPI website.

Conference for Planning Support Staff - details now available - 23/02/10

Details have now been finalised for the latest Conference for Planning Support Staff to be organised by TRA and can be viewed on our website. This is the ninth annual conference to be held in London and it will take place on 29 April 2010. At TRA, we work to support all staff contributing to planning service delivery; something that is even more necessary in a period of change and uncertainty, with huge challenges ahead. The conference will address new areas of practice, as well as day to day issues.

Subjects to be covered during the day include: a look at the future of planning - both the bigger picture, and in more detail about what it means at grass-roots level; how one authority has coped with the demands of service improvement and what we can learn from their experiences; the new approach to pro-active planning and how to progress from "Development Control" to "Development Management"; and a brief look at how you can benefit from being a member of the online Planning Admin Network (PAN) and the popular certificated course for planning support staff.

Places can be booked using the pdf booking form available to download from the website via the above link. Alternatively, places can be booked provisionally by telephone or via our online provisional booking facility.

E-publicity: we need your help - 19/02/10

Reducing the amount of publicity we send out by post is a key objective in our Environmental Management System and to achieve this we need all our mailing contacts to agree to receive our publicity via email. Most of our contacts are now signed up for e-publicity but there are still a few of you out there receiving postal mailshots. 

If you are still receiving our mailshots by post, we would strongly urge you to sign-up for e-publicity now. The easiest way to do this is to complete our mailing list sign-up form. The sign-up form also gives you the opportunity to choose the broad topic areas you are interested in. It will only take a few moments and, as well as saving valuable resources, it will mean that you'll receive our information direct to your inbox, rather than waiting for it to be circulated around the office. Your help with this would be very much appreciated.

If you do not currently receive our publicity and would like to do so, you can use the same form to sign-up. We won't bombard you with emails and we will not pass on your information to anyone else. Details of our privacy policy are on the sign-up form.

Hurry ... book now for post-election Councillor training! - 05/02/10

If you work in an authority with local elections coming up in May 2010, you may be considering organising some post-election training in the planning system for your Councillors. In-house Councillor training is one of TRA's most popular services for local authorities and has been for many years. We are the leading provider of practitioner-presented training for councillors involved in planning and have provided training for more than 180 local authorities in England, Scotland and Wales. A list of our clients can be found on our website, along with feedback from previous participants.

A number of Councils have already booked their training days with TRA but we do still have a reasonable amount of availability at this stage thanks to our large team of presenters. However, since demand is usually high in the period immediately after the elections, we would highly recommend that you get in touch as early as possible to avoid disappointment! 

Our two most popular workshops, especially for new Councillors, are A Briefing on Planning for Councillors, which covers planning policy and procedures, principally in relation to development management and The Role of Councillors in Planning: propriety and good practice, which tackles tricky issues such as conflicts and declarations of interest, material considerations, lobbying, and decisions contrary to officer advice.

For more information, or to see an outline programme please contact Angela Holmes without obligation.

We'd love you to spread the word - 04/02/10

One of the keys to TRA's success over the past 25 years has been the solid reputation we have built up. This reputation is based on the fact that we provide both quality services and value for money and it has grown over time thanks to the many clients who have felt comfortable in recommending us, allowing us to publish their feedback, or simply suggesting that colleagues take a look at what we offer.  You can't beat "word of mouth" as a promotional tool!

Naturally, if you are able to recommend TRA from personal experience that is much appreciated. But even if you haven't yet tried out our services for yourself but can see that they may be of interest to people you know, then there are still ways in which you can help spread the word.

If you spot something on the website that you would like to pass on to a colleague you can make use of our "Email Page" function.  You'll find this towards the top right hand corner of each page (with a little brown envelope icon). Clicking on this allows you to enter the name and email address of the person you would like to send the page to and gives you space to write a short message to go with it. They will then receive an email from TRA saying that you have suggested they take a look at that particular page. Simple!

In a similar vein, if you receive your copy of our monthly newsletter, TRA ENews, and think of someone who may find it of interest then please do forward it on. If they like what they see, they can subscribe straight away - there is a box right at the bottom of the newsletter where they simply enter their email address to receive their own copy of TRA ENews in future. And if you haven't yet signed up to ENews yourself then why not do it now!

Book now and we can invoice in April - 31/01/10

Good news! If you want to reserve your place now on one of the earlier workshops in our inter-authority programmes but need the invoice to be raised in the new financial year then we can help you. We understand how it is with budgets and financial years and we don't want you to miss out on the training event of your choice just because the timing isn't quite right.

So why not take a look at some of the events running early on in our programmes for planning and development staff and see if anything grabs your attention:

To ensure we invoice in April, please mark this clearly on your booking form or contact Shelagh Pooley to be doubly sure.

Improve your negotiating skills and work more effectively - 27/01/10

The ability to negotiate effectively is an essential skill for planning practitioners and although many staff have practical experience of negotiation (with varying levels of success), only a few will have received any specific training in the concepts and skills involved. But when you combine it with experience, an understanding of the principles and techniques of negotiation can make a massive difference to your effectiveness on a daily basis.

Negotiation Concepts and Skills is the focus of the latest module on TRA's Certificated Course in Management Concepts and Skills in Planning, running in May and June 2010. Please note that this module can also be taken by students on the Certificated Course in Planning Enforcement. There are a few places available on this module but since attendance is strictly limited to 12, early booking is encouraged. Provisional bookings are recommended if you cannot make a confirmed booking straight away.

Remember that you don't have to be aiming for the full certificate to attend individual modules; we are happy to have people attend modules on a one-off basis. So if you want to work on your negotiation skills but don't want to, or aren't able to, attend any of the other modules, that is not a problem.  

Aspects of negotiation covered in the module include:

  • the context of negotiation: time factors, information, the planning organisation
  • the concept of commitment in negotiation
  • when not to negotiate
  • different approaches to negotiation (win/win, win/lose etc)
  • techniques associated with different types of negotiation
  • typical negotiation "gambits" in the planning field
  • power relationships and their implications
  • the personality dimension and its uses and limitations.

The Course Tutor is Chris Weetman, who was previously Development Services Manager at St Helens Council and has a post-graduate management diploma.  Further details of the module, including a leaflet/booking form can be found on our website.  You can also contact Shelagh Pooley if you need any more information or if you would like to reserve a place, provisionally or otherwise. 

In-house training for planning appeals - 25/01/10

TRA offers a range of workshops for officers involved in planning appeals, including an introduction to appeals in general and more in-depth sessions relating to the individual methods of appeal eg Public Inquiries.

Workshops can be organised for individual authorities or jointly for a group of neighbouring authorities. Shared training is an increasingy popular option with our clients as authorities are encouraged by government to share services/resources and as many face restrictions on training budgets.

The workshops available are:

  • An Introduction to the Appeals Process which provides an introduction to the fundamental elements of the planning appeal system: they key differences between the three appeal methods; how you can get the best out of each one; what Inspectors are looking for; where the Courts come in; and when costs get awarded.
  • Preparing Committee Reports and Appeal Statements: how to be both effective and efficient which takes a very practical look at the preparation of Committee reports and simple appeal statements. (For the vast majority of small-scale appeals handled by written reps, the Committee report may be all that is needed to defend the Council's position.) The workshop provides advice on covering all the issues and the need to be succinct; what to put in and what to leave out; and what Councillors and Inspectors are looking for in reports and statements.
  • Appearing at Hearings which includes a mock Hearing exercise and is designed to improve both preparation and presentational skills and enhance participants' overall confidence when facing this process. With around a fifth of appeals handled by this method it is essential for all DM officers to be familiar with the style and format of Hearings.
  • Appearing at Public Inquiries (2-day) which is appropriate for any officer who wishes to learn, practice or sharpen the skills involved in appearing at a Public Inquiry.  It aims to improve presentation, witness and advocacy skills; clarify the roles of different participants at the Inquiry; equip participants with a clear understanding of Inquiry procedures; and enhance good practice. A crucial part of the workshop is a cameo inquiry exercise running on Day 2.

If you would like further information on any of these workshops or to discuss your training requirements, please contact Angela Holmes. 

Scottish workshops begin soon - 25/01/10

With only eight weeks to go until the start of TRA's 2010 training programme in Scotland, there's no time to waste if you are planning to attend one (or maybe more...) of our workshops.

A full run-down of the programme is available on our website but to whet your appetite, here are the topics being covered in the first few events:

If invoicing before the start of the new financial year is a problem, then don't worry, we can invoice in April - see the other article in this issue.

Leaflets/booking forms and other details can be downloaded via the links above and provisional bookings (strongly recommended) can be made using the provisional bookings facility on our website or by contacting Shelagh Pooley. 

Madingley News - 23/01/10

This section of ENews is a way for people who have taken part in TRA's Certificated Courses to keep in contact with us and each other. We are keen to keep in touch so please let Shelagh at TRA know if you have any news.

Congratulations to Natalie Banks from Braintree District Council who was awarded her MSc in Town Planning from Anglia Ruskin University at the end of last year.  Natalie was awarded the Certificate in Planning Enforcement in 2004 and is now a Senior Planning Officer. Looking back at the certificated course, Natalie says,  I will always maintain that the courses I did with you at Madingley were the best and most practically useful I have ever been on. They prepared me for getting back into the swing of studying and raised my confidence in presenting ideas to a group of people and working as a team. I owe you all a huge debt!

Congratulations also to Liz Humby and Richard Aston, both certificate holders from the management programme, who got married recently. Liz is Principal Planning Officer with East Herts DC and Richard is Principal DC Officer at Welwyn Hatfield DC.

New Councillor training roadshow - dates announced - 21/01/10

We announced in last month's ENews that two of our most popular workshops for Councillors involved in planning will be going "on tour" shortly after the 2010 local elections. Although the timing will make them particularly attractive to new members of Committee, attendance is by no means restricted and any Councillor with an involvement in planning can attend.

These workshops are normally only delivered on an in-house basis for individual authorities, so this roadshow represents an ideal opportunity for:

  • authorities where only a few Councillors currently need training
  • authorities wanting to “test-run” a workshop with a view to possibly running them in-house at a later stage
  • Councillors who may have missed out on in-house training for any reason
  • Councillors who want to meet colleagues from other authorities.

Dates have now been confirmed and all the details, including leaflets/booking forms are available on our website.

We expect these workshops to be particularly popular and the number of places is limited so early booking is recommended. Provisonal bookings can be made by telephone or online via our provisional bookings facility.

If you are looking to train a larger number of Councillors, perhaps the whole Committee, then in-house training is likely to be a much more cost-effective option for you. Further information is available on our website or you can contact Angela Holmes to discuss your requirements.

Support staff bursaries awarded - 15/01/10

The deadline for applications for TRA's training bursaries for planning support staff has now passed. We had lots of good quality applications and it was a difficult task to choose the deserving ‘winners’ but the places have now been awarded. We look forward to receiving feedback from the participants once they've attended their events and we will include some of their comments in future issues of ENews.

TRA has always recognised the crucial role played by planning support staff and from speaking to many of our clients, it seems that planning support staff in particular are suffering from the current squeeze on training budgets. Through this scheme we have been able to provide access to training opportunities which might not have otherwise been available. Well done to those who secured themselves a place on their chosen TRA event!

If you didn't apply but are interested to see what TRA has on offer for planning support staff you can check out our website for information on in-house training and/or inter-authority workshops/conferences (England/Wales) (Scotland).