What does it mean to make good places in modern Britain?
Today the Town and Country Planning Association (TCPA) in partnership with academics at the University of Sheffield launches the Sheffield Declaration which sets a new purpose for planning and a new ethical code for planners to ensure the profession better serves the public interest. The Declaration, which has been co-designed with over 50 students, researchers and practitioners, aims to return planning to its founding values of social justice and sustainable development.
The Declaration emerged from a workshop hosted by the University in late January, as part of a year-long project that champions a return to values-led planning. The ethical code contains four guiding principles: (1) To work for sustainable development, (2) to do no harm, (3) to serve the public interest with integrity and openness, and (4) to support democratic decision-making and foster public trust.
The project hopes to revitalise planning and address low morale among young planners. It is in response to the Tomorrow 125 Project, which highlighted a need to reconnect planning practise and education to its transformational, visionary roots. And it comes at a critical time, with one in five planners expected to leave the profession within three years (RTPI, Nov 2025).
Democratic planning is a vital way of securing a peaceful and sustainable future in an era defined by crisis and conflict. But the system often favours the needs of private developers over the public interest.
The public perception of the profession is further hindered by frequent references to ‘red tape’ by the government and the media. This reinforces the image of planning as “delay, inefficiency and obstruction” noted one workshop participant. Research by the RTPI finds that fewer than 14% of planners believe the public understands the purpose of planning (RTPI, Apr 2025).
Next, the team are hoping to run a summer school for creative young practitioners where they can explore how to apply the Declaration in practise. It will be accompanied by the Student Guide to Utopia, a resource on the history and future of moral imaginations in planning.
Malcolm Tait, Professor of Planning at University of Sheffield said:
“There has been a singular lack of forums for debate, certainly amongst the planning profession, about the principles of planning.
The Sheffield Declaration acknowledges that planning is the way that society takes responsibility for our planet and the flourishing of all people, both now and in the future.”
Hugh Ellis, Director of Policy at the TCPA said:
“Planning is the most powerful expression of how a society wishes to develop, but the system has lost its way. Deregulation and increasingly complex processes are robbing communities of the ability to plan for hopeful futures and leaving them vulnerable to the impacts of climate change.
“Early career planners are disillusioned. They tell us about the gulf between the positive principles of planning education and the limitations of professional practice. We hope the Sheffield Declaration and ethical code can address this discrepancy and reconnect planning with its visionary roots.”
The Sheffield Declaration aims to provide a hopeful pathway to healthy placemaking, which can restore public and professional confidence in the planning system. Planners are invited to sign up to the new ethical code, which can be found on the TCPA website: https://www.tcpa.org.uk/a-new-purpose-for-planning/
