The opportunities presented to planners under the new localism agenda were top of the bill at a conference in Birmingham.

The Planning Summit, hosted by DLA Piper and run in conjunction with the Royal Town Planning Institute (RTPI) and the Homes and Communities Agency (HCA), centred on the forthcoming Decentralisation and Localism Bill and how the new focus of 'bottom-up' planning could enable housing growth and regeneration in the Midlands.

The event was chaired by Stephen Hill, Chairman of the RTPI West Midlands and more than 80 delegates heard presentations from RTPI president Ann Skippers, Janice Morphet, Director of RMJM Consulting, Andrew Whitaker of the House Builders Federation, Paul Spooner, West Midlands Director of the HCA, and Peter Taylor, Head of Planning at DLA Piper.

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David Carter, Head of Planning Strategy at Birmingham City Council, Jake Berriman, head of strategy and policy at Shropshire Council and Jon Lord, West Midlands manager of Planning Aid, led a session on localism in action.

Mr Taylor said: "The Coalition Government has given broad indications of how it would like the planning system to work, but there is still a lot of detail to emerge.

"The recent White Paper, Local Growth: Realising Every Place's Potential, was a start, but we must wait for the Localism Bill together with likely further secondary legislation to understand the full impact the new regime will have on public and private sector investment in the development industry."

(CD)