HUDU monitors and analyses a range of information to support its wider role of aligning planning and health, and of working with partners to promote healthy urban development and healthy communities. Examples include:
- Demographic trends and projections
- Changing health infrastructure and services
- Development trends
- Housing pipeline and land supply
- Large residential developments (planning alerts system; planning decisions and scheme implementation)
- Planning contributions for health (including S106 and CIL)
- Progress on adopting and implementing Community Infrastructure Levy (CIL)
- Published local plans and relevant supporting documents eg Supplementary Planning Guidance on the use of S106 (and other) planning/developer contributions for health
- Other relevant plans and planning policy documents eg Opportunity Area Frameworks
- Useful Planning Appeals
- Health and wellbeing strategies
- Healthcare strategies
- Commissioning Plans
- Sustainability and Transformation Plans
- New and existing health facilities
- Evidence on topical health-related issues (ageing population, obesity)
- Good practice case studies
We also periodically review and update the evidence base around important planning and health related topics – for example, we commissioned the King’s Fund to produce a report on the health impacts of spatial planning decisions looking at four specific topics – transportation, public spaces and services, healthy homes and flood risk and have participated in several expert groups eg
- were a member of the group advising NHS England on the development of its Healthy New Towns initiative
- are a member of Public Health England’s Healthy People, Healthy Places reference group
- were a member of the expert group advising the Mayor on childhood obesity
- led an RTPI working group looking at the health impacts of hot food take-aways and how the planning system might be used to help mitigate impacts
- formed a joint collaboration with the Universities of West of England (WHO Collaborating Centre on Healthy Urban Environments) and Central Lancashire to share evidence and good practice, in part through an affiliation with the Healthy Cities Network