The government’s scrapping of the Housing and Planning Delivery Grant will slow down planning teams and hinder economic recovery, planning bodies have warned.

The £141m grant, which was was given to councils to fund their planning departments, was axed by the Department for Communities and Local Government yesterday.

Matt Thomson, head of policy at the Royal Town Planning Institute said: “Cutting the entire Housing and Planning Delivery Grant will hinder councils making plans. The grant has been used by many authorities to increase their ability to engage with communities and undertake research, both of which are key government objectives.

“It is essential that councils are motivated to produce sound plans. Strong visions are needed for the future of places as an essential part of attracting inward investment for economic recovery.”

A spokesman for the Planning Officers Society said: “In the face of no further Housing and Planning Delivery Grant bolstering planning budgets, no doubt politicians and the general public will welcome the prospect of savings arising from budget cuts. They will not; however, readily accept that these come with a reduced capacity to produce work and deliver services to the same standards.

“No one in government has taken a stand about retaining capacity in planning services to prepare for the recovery; indeed some authorities are now experiencing a steady increase in application numbers.”

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