Social value in real estate part 1: Planning

Unlocking social value in new development could add an additional £15bn per year in social value for communities across the UK and the planning process is key to achieving this as discussed in a webinar held by the Social value Portal on the 14th of July. Our panel for this session consisted of Ailish Ryan (WSP), Liam Ronan-Chlond (Fist Base) and Anna McChesney Gordon (Social Value Portal).

Ailish presented the results of a nationwide survey she carried that showed that an increasing number of local authorities are working towards integrating social value requirements into their planning processes and that the issue of social value is now becoming codified.  The good news however, according to Liam from First Base, a developer known for their long term engagement is that many developers now understand the importance of embedding social value into their submissions as a way of describing the wider value that a new development brings to society. Anna McChesney Gordon described her work in developing a Social Value Statement and what it should contain to help the planners get a better picture about the value of a development.

There is no doubt that the Social Value Act is here to stay and that it is likely to have a major impact the planning process made even more relevant as communities look to Build Back Better, Greener, Fairer.