As we come up to the end of 2017, Planning TV looks ahead at how we could deal with some of the biggest challenges and opportunities in planning.

Housing has risen to the top of the political agenda, as well as the constant challenge of building the right kind of homes in the right places (which was the title of Government's white paper that was released earlier in the year). There's also the perennial issue of under capacity and skills in local planning authorities, which may change once increases in planning fees go up. The increased pressure on space is driving development on brownfield sites that may be potentially contaminated, leading to risks for developers and slowing the rate of housing delivery.

Challenges can also give way to opportunity. Greater density in cities affords new opportunities such as better public transport and more interesting mixes of land use. The way that people live in cities is changing, and so there is no shortage of problems that can be tackled in innovative ways. Alice Lester, Head of Planning at the London Borough of Brent, talks about how local authorities have innovated to build more council housing, whilst balancing housing demand and densification in her part of London.

This episode also features Margot Adele Orr Jones, Masterplanner at Atkins Acuity; and Jennifer Travers and Emma Broad from Dentons Environment and Real Estate teams.

Dentons is the world's first polycentric global law firm. A top 20 firm on the Acritas 2015 Global Elite Brand Index, the Firm is committed to challenging the status quo in delivering consistent and uncompromising quality and value in new and inventive ways. Driven to provide clients a competitive edge, and connected to the communities where its clients want to do business, Dentons knows that understanding local cultures is crucial to successfully completing a deal, resolving a dispute or solving a business challenge. Now the world's largest law firm, Dentons' global team builds agile, tailored solutions to meet the local, national and global needs of private and public clients of any size in more than 125 locations serving 50-plus countries. www.dentons.com.

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