Future Planners is a collaborative project by Royal Institute of Chartered Surveyors (RICS), English Partnerships and the Royal Town Planning Institute, which was led by Demos, Campaign to Protect Rural England and zero zero.

The report from the project, Future Planners: Propositions for the next age of planning, will be launched on 6th February at RICS, an event featuring a talk by economist and influential planning author Kate Barker.

The Planning and Compulsory Purchase 2004 provided a new rulebook for planning. It has potential to help realise the democratic imperative to engage communities in the planning of their environments. But what role does the planner hold in the new system?

Planners are uniquely placed at the heart of one of the most fundamental aspects of local democracy – the ability of a community to shape its built environment and economic future. They aren’t just petty-minded conservatory-deniers. The questions dealt with by planners on a daily basis are fundamentally political and social, and the decisions they make influence the lives and futures of whole communities.

This project aims to help planners tell a new story about their role that can help bring the 2004 reforms to life – giving a new generation of professionals the language and tools to engage the public in a revitalised process of local place-shaping.

We have looked at three case study areas - Milton Keynes; Lincolnshire; and Middlesbrough; areas that face diverse and differing challenges.