Healthy policies for healthy places: A framework to systematically embed health in local development plans in England

Hyde, Gemma; Bird, Emma

Abstract

The places in which people live have a profound influence over the opportunities they have and the choices they can make to live healthy and happy lives. Some of the most pressing health challenges faced by the UK: such as obesity, mental health issues, physical inactivity, and the needs of an ageing population, can all be influenced by the quality of our built and natural environment. Planning policy, nationally and locally, shapes the environments we live in and Local Plans can play an integral role in improving both physical and mental population health. However, TRUUD research with over 130 public and private urban development actors in 2021, found that Local Plans are inconsistent and weak regarding the health requirements that are expected from developers when making a planning application .

Many local planning authorities in England recognise the role of planning in shaping good population health and want to strengthen the ‘health’ aspects of their plans and policies but are unsure exactly how. Local authority officers from across departments can be unsure why, how and when in the planning process health can be embedded into local policy, and weaknesses and vagueness in policy means developers can be unclear about their responsibilities to address local health priorities and incorporate healthy urban development principles and features in their proposals.

Based on in-depth health in Local Plans research and over a decade of practice supporting local authorities across the UK, TRUUD and the TCPA are collaborating on a Healthy Planning Framework to translate their experience into transferable and sustainable guidance to support stakeholders working in local authorities to better integrate health into local planning policy.

The framework, building on work already completed by TRUUD and the TCPA, will be drafted and then reviewed with a small number of local authorities to provide feedback and a ‘sense check’ before being launched in September 2024. It will include detailed guidance on 1) specifying local health priorities; 2) signposting to guidance and standards; 3) clarifying health-related requirements for developers; and 4) strengthening implementation requirements. Examples of good policy language from existing adopted policy will be provided throughout.

The themed paper will present the framework, a practical tool that will help local planners and others create healthier places by implementing evidence-based and robust healthy planning policies.

• Presentation Conference Type: Presentation / Talk
• Conference Name: Healthy City Design 2024 International Congress
• Start Date: Oct 15, 2024
• End Date: Oct 16, 2024
• Acceptance Date: May 24, 2024
• Publication Date: Oct 16, 2024
• Deposit Date: Oct 17, 2024
• Publicly Available Date: Oct 17, 2024
• Peer Reviewed: Peer Reviewed
• Public URL: https://uwe-repository.worktribe.com/output/13291603