Greg Clark | Articles/speeches

27 MAR 2012

Ministerial statement to the House of Commons on the National Planning Policy Framework

Mr Speaker I would like to make a statement about planning policy. I am delighted today to be publishing the National Planning Policy Framework and our response to the Communities and Local Government Select Committee Report of the 21 December 2011. Our reforms to planning policy have 3 fundamenta...

25 JAN 2012

Civic leadership for strong cities: Speech at debate on elected mayors hosted by Birmingham Chamber of Commerce

I'm delighted to have this opportunity to speak alongside Lord Adonis and Lord Heseltine, who have done so much to galvanise the debate on the future of our cities. It's also an honour to share a stage with Mike Ward and Sir Peter, each of whom brings so much passion and intelligence to working for...

23 JAN 2012

The power to prosper: A speech at the launch of Cities Outlook 2012

In 2005, humanity became a mostly urban species. For the first time in the history of the world, there were more people living in cities than outside of them. By 2050 it is projected that cities will account for three-quarters of the global population. It is therefore no exaggeration to say that cit...

06 AUG 2011

Reforming planning for future generations

The French have an admirable phrase - "why make it complicated when you can make it simple?" That sentiment would not have found much favour with my predecessors. Last year when I began to rethink national planning policy, I asked for copies of the existing policy. It had to be carried into my offi...

25 JUL 2011

Greg Clark's Foreword to National Planning Policy Framework

The purpose of planning is to help achieve sustainable development. Sustainable means ensuring that better lives for ourselves don't mean worse lives for future generations. Development means growth. We must accommodate the new ways by which we will earn our living in a competitive world. We must ...

14 JUN 2011

A new settlement for planning: A speech to the Royal Town Planning Institute

It's a striking fact that the people gathered together in this room will, collectively, have a greater impact on the way Britain will live during the decades ahead than almost any gathering of people of a similar size anywhere in the UK. The way our cities, towns and villages will look. How amenab...

10 FEB 2011

Sustainable development through local empowerment: The Campaign to Protect Rural England (CPRE) Annual Lecture

It's a privilege to be here today and to follow in the illustrious footsteps of those who have given this lecture in the past. The spirit of the CPRE is people's sense of connection to the place where they live. By and large people live where they do by choice, and they love where they live. They u...

02 FEB 2011

Pro-localism and pro-development: A speech to the Adam Smith Institute

All nations are shaped by geography and history. America is founded on an idea of limitless freedom and space. Historically, if you disagreed with someone, you could head West. The answer to conflict about access to limited resources was the wagon train. In this country, the answer was the orderly ...

24 JAN 2011

The opportunity of neighbourhood planning: A speech to the Planning Officers Society

Planning is more than a job: it is a vocation. It helps people articulate their aspirations and ambitions for the place where they live. It promotes local prosperity, safeguards the environment, and expresses the unique character that makes different places special. This is a unique and incredibly v...

30 NOV 2010

Community engagement and the planning system: A speech to the Town and Country Planning Association

I'm pleased to be here today to set out some of the next steps in Government's proposals for putting communities in control of their own destiny through the planning system; and delighted to be able to say more about how the forthcoming Localism Bill will change planning for the better. But let me ...

18 NOV 2010

Open source planning in action: A speech to Localis

Many thanks to Localis for hosting us today. Localis are a think-tank on local matters who have made national politicians sit up and pay attention on issues from town hall finance, to personalising public services, to cutting back regulation. Your director Alex Thomson helped shape many of the idea...

28 OCT 2010

Partnerships for prosperity: A speech to Local Enterprise Partnerships Conference hosted by the Local Government Association

It's a pleasure to be here today to confirm and celebrate the first new local enterprise partnerships, and mark what is, I believe, a pivotal moment for local government. Context The difficult decisions set out in last week's Spending Review are vital if we are to reduce the deficit and put Britai...

27 JUL 2010

Turning the tide of centralisation: A speech to Policy Exchange

The Big Society is a big idea, but what it comes down to is this: Our answer to collectivism isn't just individualism. As human beings, it is in our nature to join together to achieve common goals. There are two ways in which this joining can work: From the top-down, through hierarchy mediated b...

08 JUL 2010

The central importance of localism: A speech to the Local Government Association Conference 2010

Parliament is literally and metaphorically a place of divisions. Left versus right. Front bench versus back bench. Government versus opposition. But when it really comes down to it, there are just two kinds of MP: those who have been councillors and those who haven't. The first category has many a...

29 JUN 2010

Community-led development: A speech to the Royal Town Planning Institute Annual Planning Convention

"By moving from conflict to collaboration, we can be both pro-development and pro-localist." I'm grateful for the opportunity to talk to so many members of the RTPI. I am absolutely thrilled to have responsibility for planning policy as part of a wider brief to decentralise power from central gove...

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