News
Lichfields wins RTPI Research Award!
12 Sept 2017At the ceremony held at Queen's University, Belfast it was announced that Lichfields had won the Planning Consultancy Award in the 2nd annual RTPI Awards for Research Excellence. The awards recognise and promote high quality, impactful spatial planning research in the UK, the Republic of Ireland and internationally.
Lichfields' winning entry is Start to finish - How quickly do large-scale housing sites deliver? It was produced by an in-house team at Lichfields led by Rachel Clements, Senior Planner.
The research considers speed and rate of delivery of large-scale housing based on a large number of sites across England and Wales (outside London). Using real-life examples, it confirms what many suspected, that large sites bring many planning benefits but take a long time to get started and do not always deliver at the pace expected. Factors influencing rates of delivery include the strength of market and levels of affordable housing provision. The research has had practical utility in planning practice - including in debating housing trajectory and five year land supply at Local Plan Examinations and s.78 appeals - and has also attracted significant media coverage.
We are delighted that the research has had an impact on this particular debate in the industry and are thrilled to have produced a valuable contribution to planning practice on housing supply. The RTPI Research Award is recognition of this.
Matthew Spry, Senior Director
The report can be downloaded here