Hertfordshire has introduced the Healthy and Safe Places Framework, the UK’s first comprehensive approach to integrating health, safety and inclusivity into local planning and place-making.
Led by the Hertfordshire Growth Board, Prior + Partners worked with local government, Public Health, the Police and Crime Commissioner, NHS partners, the Voluntary Sector, and other key stakeholders to develop a unified, evidence-based approach to embedding health, wellbeing, and safety into spatial planning and development across the county.
The framework sets out seven Healthy and Safe Placemaking Principles, developed through a countywide officer group. These principles provide practical, consistent guidance for integrating health, safety, and inclusivity into planning policy and decision-making, with the aim of reducing health inequalities across Hertfordshire.
Recognising the vital role planning plays in shaping the wider determinants of health, this guidance can provide practical, consistent support for other Local Planning Authorities—and, in time, for Mayors and Strategic Authorities—on embedding health considerations into their own Local Plans and Spatial Development Strategies to create healthier, safer, and more inclusive communities nationally.
To enable practical application for this system-wide change, the framework is hosted on a web-based platform alongside a rich set of datasets. This accessible digital solution enables other planning authorities to apply a health lens to future growth plans and influence the design of both new and existing places, supporting planners, developers, health professionals, and communities in creating environments that reduce health inequalities and improve outcomes.
Prior + Partners’ Shaun Andrews and Dan Allen presented the framework at a countrywide event on Thursday 13 November, bringing together senior leaders, planners, community protection and health experts, and community stakeholders to celebrate this milestone and discuss practical implementation.
Access the framework’s web-based platform here.
For guidance, training, or support in embedding the framework into local planning and decision-making, please contact info@priorpartners.com.
