Planning Policy Statement 25 (PPS25) has now been in place for a year and a half since replacing the Planning Policy Guidance Note 25 (PPG25) in December 2006. A ‘Living Draft’ Companion Practice Guide published in February 2007 has supported PPS25 providing guidance and good practice for its implementation.

Following a long period of consultation, a final Practice Guide is now due for publication in May 2008. Following a very successful set of regional seminars last year, Royal Haskoning, in conjunction with the Department for Communities and Local Government, are hosting six regional seminars on the delivery of PPS25 through local planning and development frameworks.

"The seminars were important in helping local authority planners and other stakeholders to understand the PPS25 policy approach and how to apply it. They also provided valuable feedback to CLG on the practical issues associated with implementing PPS25. This has been very useful to us in finalising the Practice Guide to support PPS25."

Peter Bide, Head of Planning Policy, DCLG