Date published: 2007/05/21
The BBC says:
Gaining permission for major building projects such as airport terminals and power stations would become quicker under government plans.
Communities Secretary Ruth Kelly wants to replace large planning inquiries in England with an independent commission.
She also told MPs the government would give "national planning statements" on needs for the next 10 to 25 years.
Environmentalists oppose the proposals, which the Tories say will "dump developments on local communities".
Ms Kelly said the Independent Planning Commission - proposed in a white paper published on Monday - would take into account the potential local impact of large projects, such as on air quality, noise and traffic problems
It would "bring together experts" like lawyers and planners to help decide policy and there would be "better public engagement at every step of the way", she added.
Ms Kelly said smaller planning applications - such as home extensions and conservatories - would be speeded up.
To this end, planning documents would be "streamlined", she added.
Developers would also have a "legal duty" to consult the public, Ms Kelly said, and described the current system as "inaccessible and sometimes baffling".
But Neil Sinden, policy director at the Campaign to Protect Rural England, said: "We are not as reassured as we would like to be about these safeguards."
He added: "The planning system is there to help us debate issues....
"Inquiries do take time. These issues are complex. We need to balance national and local issues."
There was a danger the proposed new system would "strip democratic accountability out of the planning system", he added.
Hugh Ellis, of Friends of the Earth, said: "The planning white paper will give the green light to massive new developments while stripping away opportunities for affected communities or the wider public to input on the decisions.
"This is policy making at its worse. It will destroy local communities and exacerbate climate change."
Liberal Democrat housing spokesperson Dan Rogerson said: "All the indications suggest the changes will help Labour's friends in the nuclear and supermarket industries, rather than giving local people a genuine say in planning."
The white paper will also suggest minor projects like conservatories and home extensions should no longer need planning permission where there is little impact on neighbours.
The proof will be in the pudding but the principles are sensible. Of course the Tories are likely to take over after the next election so they can just reverse what the current government will do. The opponents of the proposal (the Tories, the Lib Dems, the CPRE, FoE, etc.) all represent the middle class, who have entrenched privileges which of course they don't want to lose. They want the world to stop, so pretty much oppose almost all planning applications as a matter of course.
The CPRE is wrong when it claims the new system would "strip democratic accountability". The CPRE has no democratic mandate. They are just a typical unacccountable special interest pressure group pushing their own narrow partisan minority special interest at the expense of the interest of the majority. The FoE is the same (and they cry wolf complete with the mandatory reference to "climate change"). These organisations guarantee that the biggest winners from the current planning system are lawyers and consultants.
Nobody, including the BBC, picks up one of the big problems with the current planning system, namely that the losers are not properly compensated for their losses and the winners pay no tax on their winnings. This is one reason that the special interest pressure groups are so successful, because they can hijack the grievances of the losers and so push their special interest.
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