Public Practice awarded £500k government grant to help recruit 300 new planners

Public Practice has been awarded £500,000 in new grant funding from the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government (MHCLG) to support the recruitment of planning and placemaking professionals into local authorities.

The not-for-profit organisation will use the grant to expand its Associate Programme, which places built environment professionals in year-long roles within local government. The funding is intended to address the sector’s ongoing skills shortage and support the government’s target to appoint 300 new professionals to help deliver its goal of building 1.5 million new homes.

The government has stated that expanding planning capacity is critical to clearing application backlogs and accelerating housing delivery. The announcement comes ahead of the implementation of the forthcoming Planning and Infrastructure Bill.

The grant will be used to broaden the reach of the Associate Programme across England, including through a targeted salary support scheme for eligible authorities. Public Practice will also continue to focus on attracting mid-career professionals from outside the public sector with skills in housing delivery, urban design, and environmental planning.

Pooja Agrawal, CEO at Public Practice, said: “We are thankful to MHCLG for their continued support of Public Practice’s mission. We are proud of our role in bringing highly motivated and talented individuals with diverse placemaking skills into the public sector to support local authorities in achieving their ambitions.

“Our aim has always been to help improve the quality of places for the benefit of everyone, and local government can only do this if it is well-resourced and supported with the right skills in place.”

According to Public Practice’s 2024 Recruitment and Skills survey, over 70% of local authority planning teams cited difficulties in attracting qualified candidates as their primary recruitment challenge. More than half reported lacking the capacity to meet strategic goals beyond their core statutory responsibilities.

Victoria Hills, chief executive at the Royal Town Planning Institute, said: “Local authorities are on the frontline of tackling the housing crisis, and this investment will equip them with the skilled professionals needed to meet the government’s ambitious housing targets.

“By beginning to address the critical resource shortage, [this funding] empowers councils with more expertise to create sustainable, inclusive, and thriving places. We urge councils to work quickly with Public Practice to help restore capacity, to not only help with the existing urgent need, but to prepare for the implementation of the Planning and Infrastructure Bill.” 

Since its launch in 2017, Public Practice has placed over 360 professionals into roles across nearly 100 public sector organisations. The majority of participants had no prior experience in local government, with 92% coming from private practice or other sectors.

Public Practice said the funding would support wider access to its placement model and help build long-term capacity in planning teams. The organisation seeks to promote multidisciplinary expertise in the public sector and increase retention rates among participants beyond the initial 12-month placement.

MHCLG has identified Public Practice as one of its key delivery partners for supporting planning reform and local government capacity-building.