Finding new premises, expanding or improving properties or having the right infrastructure to support your business all require an effective planning process.

The current planning system seeks to protect our national heritage, countryside and architecture and allow the maximum amount of input from local people into the process. Councillors determine applications, from which appeals, inquiries and decisions by Government Ministers, can then follow.

The current system does not however effectively deliver for business due to the time it takes for applications to get through the planning process and the lack of certainty the entire process creates. Major infrastructure projects of economic importance, from roads, to airports, to power stations, can currently get trapped in the planning system for years. For example, BAA had to lodge 37 separate applications under seven different pieces of legislation over a seven year period before getting the go- ahead for Terminal 5. Such a system is no longer suited to our economic needs in an increasingly competitive global economy.

The Government is currently seeking to reform the system. There will be long-term national planning policy set by Parliament, major infrastructure decisions made by an independent commission rather than Ministers and minor applications taken out of the process completely. Some people are opposed to development and will be arguing against a future where the planning system places a greater emphasis on economic benefits, alongside environmental and social issues. The British Chambers of Commerce therefore feels it is imperative that the business community supports the proposals laid out on the Planning Bill to bring about positive change to the planning process.