Lichfields wins Planning Consultancy Award at RTPI Awards for Research Excellence

Lichfields is delighted to be named as winner of the Planning Consultancy Award at the 2019 RTPI Awards for Research Excellence. The winners were announced during the opening ceremony of the UK-Ireland Planning Research Conference at the University of Liverpool. Our entry - ‘Planned up and be counted’ - took the award following Lichfields’ clean sweep at shortlisting stage.

Planned up and be counted is Lichfields’ sixth annual review of Local Plan production under the NPPF 2012. It looks at Local Plan coverage in England, how long plans take to prepare, and what happens at examination, notably in respect of planning for housing. It also looked at factors shaping the future of plan making in light of NPPF 2018.

In addition, London-based Planner James McGowan also won an award, as recipient for the inaugural £5,000 RTPI Practitioner Research Fund for his proposal “A Study into the Relationship between the Built Environment and Mental Health in the UK and Potential Policy Outcomes”.

Lichfields’ other shortlisted entries in the Planning Consultancy Award included: Town Centres: Planning for the Future (using case studies of several towns in the north east of England to examine the implications of changing trends and identifying recommendations to secure the future of their centres); Refused for Good Reason? (looking at what happens at appeal to housing schemes refused by elected councillors when officers had recommended approval); and Local Choices? (our review of 330 ‘made’ Neighbourhood Plans, and how far they plan for housing supply).