Event

Nextgen: the future of planning seminar

01 Oct 2019 to 01 Oct 2019
6:30 pm to 8:30 pm

Last night, London Property Alliance (CPA & WPA) welcomed 70 NextGen members at Iceni Projects’ new office, in a former Farringdon underground car park, for a seminar exploring the exciting changes happening in the planning sector.

With planning traditionally known as an industry slow to embrace technology and innovation, attendees of this event were keen to hear how data can be used to transform projects, from plan-making to community engagement. Stefan Webb, Director of Digitising Planning & Standards at Future Cities Catapult, opened the seminar with a presentation detailing how a digital planning system would make the sector more efficient, predictable, agile, transparent and holistic, whilst making developers aware of the impact of their developments.

An expert panel discussed the need for the industry to better interact with PlanTech to shape developments of the future. Michael Meadows, Head of Planning at British Land and Chair of WPA Planning Consultants Committee, explained how the industry is “ripe for disruption” and should be embracing new platforms to make planning better reflect how people are living their lives and communicating today.

A strong theme that emerged from this seminar was that planners should reap the benefits of PlanTech data to inform future projects, particularly during the public consultation process.

Speakers included:

  • Charlotte Orrell, Senior Planner at Iceni (Moderator)
  • Stefan Webb, Director of Digitising Planning & Standards at Future Cities Catapult (Presentation)

 

  • James Harris, Plantech Lead at RTPI
  • Peter Kemp, Planning Change Manager at the GLA
  • Grace Manning-Marsh, Head of LandEnhance
  • Michael Meadows, Planning Director at British Land

Key audience questions sought to find out how planners can improve engagement with disadvantaged communities and whether a zone-based planning system would work in London.