Fortismere Associates can help local authorities to improve the quality of local developments by providing training for officers and elected members.

Our workshops are structured around the local authority’s particular needs; they include a mix of presentations, question and answer sessions, discussions and group exercises.

Workshops include:

• an introduction to planning: to equip elected members with an understanding of the practicalities of delivering a planning service:
• planning at a local level but within the national context
• considerations that shape planning decisions
• the Duty to Cooperate and members’ role in that process

• the role of councillors in planning: to provide elected members with a forum to examine their role in the planning process and the skills needed to be effective

• probity and planning: to provide elected members with a sound understanding of probity issues, in the context of the Localism Act:
• current codes of conduct, their relevance, purpose, value and implications
• the distinction between predisposition and predetermination
• planning protocols and codes of conduct

• effective Local Plans: to ensure that elected members understand spatial planning; the Local Plan’s importance in delivering aspirations for the local community; and the benefits of their involvement in the process. The workshop covers all aspects of plan making in the context of the wider policy environment.

• climate change and sustainability: to provide:
• an update on current government policy, and its implications at local level
• inspiring examples of masterplanning and best practice in the design of particular building types, such as housing, work spaces or tall buildings