Planning Advisory Service (PAS)

The Department for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities provides a grant each year for PAS so we can provide support to councils. We are funded to help get local plans up-to-date and to improve decision-making, as well as running event series on topical issues. We can also work with councillors and do thorough "peer challenge" reviews of planning departments. We believe in a ‘sector led' improvement approach, where local authorities help each other to continuously improve.

We were originally set up in 2005 by the then Office of the Deputy Prime Minister to help councils respond to the significant changes initiated by the 2004 Planning Act. Since then, we have been various shapes and sizes but our focus has always been on helping Local Government play their part in an effective planning system. 

More recently we have started working with Defra and Natural England to knit together how we plan for places alongside planning for the environment. 

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