High-level planning reform

Wales faces significant challenges in housing, infrastructure, climate change and public health. Yet the planning system – anchored in local development plans – is struggling to respond. Many local plans are outdated, the process for updating them is long and complex, and both communities and businesses find it hard to engage. Wrexham’s recent high-profile planning dispute illustrates the risks.

The Infrastructure (Wales) Act 2024 provides a new consenting framework for major projects. But without reform at the local plan level, Wales will remain hampered in meeting its future needs.

The first 100 days

In its opening months, the government should:

Publish a political statement of intent, linking planning reform directly to housing delivery, energy infrastructure, climate goals and healthier places.
Create a dedicated multidisciplinary planning reform team, led by a senior service owner, bringing together expertise in planning, policy, user research, service design and digital delivery.
Engage communities and developers to understand needs and pain points. For example: How can residents meaningfully shape their neighbourhoods? What makes the process predictable for developers?
Run practical experiments with one or two local authorities to test:
- faster identification of development sites
- new digital tools for public engagement
- ways to simplify and improve plan quality

Work in the open, publishing regular updates and holding monthly ministerial briefings to share learning and progress.

By the end of 100 days, the team should have disproved risky assumptions, uncovered legal or regulatory barriers, surfaced hidden friction points, and developed prototypes to improve the planning process.

The next 2 years

Over the following two years, reform should deepen and spread:

Growing multiple teams, each specialising in aspects of reform such as community engagement tools, plan digitisation, or developer submissions.
Developing shared digital services – the “digital plumbing” – for all local authorities, such as reusable templates, common data standards and integrated platforms.
Publishing open performance data showing how quickly and effectively local plans are being produced.
Scaling successful models across Wales, so that every local authority can produce timely, adaptable local plans.

By year two, Wales should see more responsive local planning, easier community participation, and greater clarity for developers – all underpinned by modern digital infrastructure and transparent reporting.