The British Property Federation (BPF) has launched its manifesto in a bid to put property at the forefront of politician’s minds.
The manifesto covers the main points drawn up in the BPF’s revised Partnership in Property agenda, which will be published before the Queen’s Speech in June.
Commercial and residential director at BPF, Richard Lambert, said: “Property issues are not at the forefront of politician’s minds during an election campaign. But it is important that the industry takes every opportunity to make its voice heard.”
The memorandum delivers a firm message to the campaigning parties to rein in regulation and reform property taxation. “The whole system of property taxation needs a real hard look. The combination of the taxation system and the regulatory burden hampers small businesses from growing,” Lambert said.
The manifesto advises the Government to reduce the role of local authorities and DETR as “the arbiter of architectural taste”. It continues: “Not only is this wrong in principle, but local authorities do not have the skills to perform this role and their intervention more often than not leads to a deterioration in design quality.”
Lambert said: “The recent Frogmore case exemplifies why planning authorities are not best-placed to dictate design. Design is not a planning concern – it should be left to the client.”
The manifesto also advocates a cut-back in leasehold regulation, an insider approach to the EU, and a comprehensive review of stamp duty as priorities for the next government. Lambert said: “People didn’t really think about stamp duty when it was at 1%, but now it has quadrupled. It’s a major imposition on commercial property investment.”
The BPF has also called for a “a root and branch review” of the planning system, focusing on coherent national policies, quick processing of applications and speedy reviews of development plans.
EGi News 29/05/01
