Christine Whitehead LSE London
Professor Christine Whitehead's contribution to a text on planning obligations has been recognised by this year’s Excellence in Planning Research Award.
The award is made annually by the Royal Town Planning Institute following peer review of the best of the year’s planning research by leading academics and practitioners. It has recognised high quality and policy relevance of the work on planning obligations led by Emeritus Professor Tony Crook, Professor John Henneberry of the University of Sheffield, and Professor Whitehead, Professor Emeritus of Housing Economics at LSE.
The research on which the book is based was carried out over a period of two decades examining the principles, the incidence, calculating the value and monitoring the delivery of planning obligations (known as ‘planning gain’ - which require developers to contribute to the funding of infrastructure, affordable housing and other community facilities). The text does not just report on this research but also brings in additional analysis, updates and evaluation.
The research found that planning obligations had become a major source of funding for infrastructure and affordable housing (for example £5bn in 2007-08 in England) and that that most of what has been agreed is delivered and that the costs of developers’ obligations are often borne by landowners through the achievement of lower prices for development land.
Professor Christine Whitehead, one of the co-authors, said: "It has been a huge pleasure working with Tony and John and other colleagues to produce a wide range of interlinked policy relevant research over such a long period.
"We are grateful to Wiley for initiating the process of bringing our findings together in this new and accessible format and hope that it will provide an input to future policy formation."