New planning rules favour developers not local communities say Lib Dems

CHANGES to the planning system favour developers and reduce local community input say local Lib Dems.

A motion put forward by the Liberal Democrats at the full Council meeting on 21 September to take steps to stop these changes was rejected by the Labour administration.

Cllr Ian Marks said: “This is not a motion against building homes. We support the Government’s objective of building safe, decent and genuinely affordable homes, although it has no hope of building the promised 1.5 million. The issue is where we build, what we build, who provides the necessary infrastructure and whether local communities have a meaningful say.
“Development must be properly planned and democratically accountable. Local Plans must remain the primary vehicle for determining where development takes place. Local knowledge should not be dismissed as an inconvenience to the planning process but as an essential part of it.
“Local people know their communities, where roads are already congested, where the schools are full, where GP surgeries are struggling, where flooding occurs and which areas can accommodate building without fundamentally changing the character of where they live. Infrastructure must come with development, not five or ten years later. Affordable housing must be truly affordable.”

Cllr Mark Browne added: “We share the concerns of the cross-party Local Government Association about viability assessments. Too often these days, developers will agree to provide affordable housing and infrastructure but then try to wriggle out of this later on by claiming the development is not financially viable, perhaps because they paid too much for the land.
“We accept that the planning system needs speeding up but we are concerned about the changes to delegated powers that will come into effect on 31 October. These remove the influence of Planning Committees, Councillors, Parish Councils and residents over planning decisions. We are also uneasy about proposals to give increased planning powers to elected mayors.”

Cllr Helen Speed added: “Like the Local Government Association, we believe Councils like ours which have declared Climate Emergencies, should be allowed to maintain higher environmental and energy-efficient standards. Homes built today should be cheaper to heat and fit for the future.
“We are very disappointed that the Labour administration opposed our proposals to retain more democracy in the planning process. As the Local Government Association rightly says, Councils must be empowered to take residents with them when giving permission for the right development. Central government does not always know what is best.”