ADR can be an effective mechanism to help speed up the planning process when used wisely, says Martin Burns
For decades there have been frequent discussions and proposals about using alternative dispute resolution (ADR) to inspire harmony between participants in the planning process, and speed up official decisions about planning matters.
At the Royal Town Planning Institute Conference in 1996, former chief planning inspector, Chris Shepley, encouraged the use of mediation in planning.
The Planning and Compulsory Purchase Act 2004 promised a new approach to the delivery of the English planning system and, among other things, promoted consensus over confrontation.
In 2006 Kate Barker recommended that the department of communities and local government (DCLG) should establish a planning mediation service to act as an alternative dispute resolution mechanism within the planning system.
The Killian/Pretty Review of 2008 recommended use of ADR at all stages of the planning application process.
Requirement for compulsion
It would appear, however, that the material results of all the talk and encouragement for ADR have been little more than some nodding of heads, a few reports and little else.
