The government today confirmed that reforms laid out in last December’s Planning Green Paper have been dropped in favour of less radical options.
Changes which would give Parliament the power to decide on major infrastructure projects and strip county councils of their planning powers have been watered down, following criticism from MPs, business and environmental lobbyists.
Under the new proposals the government will draw up policy statements for major infrastructure projects, but the inquiry procedure will remain and Parliament will not be charged with deciding the need for a project, such as Crossrail or Heathrow Terminal 5.
In addition, while the government has confirmed that county councils will lose their planning powers, they will be encouraged to work with districts on Local Planning Frameworks.
Speaking in the House of Commons this afternoon, deputy prime minister John Prescott said he had “accepted the criticisms of the select committee” which savaged the Green Paper.
David Henry, head of planning at FPDSavills, welcomed the move: “It appears that he has actually listened to what people were saying during consultation.
“What we are left with is not the radical reform put forward by the Green Paper, but pragmatism.”
Prescott also announced that £350m from the comprehensive spending review would be given to high-performing local planning authorities over the next three years to halt the under-resourcing of the planning system.
Under the government’s “resources for reform” mantra, only planning authorities achieving their targets will get extra funds.
Michael Chambers, head of policy at the RICS, criticised the funding plans: “The problem is that the ones in most need of resources are the ones that cannot reach their targets.
“The policy will create a chicken and egg situation. Instead of providing resources to enable improvements, they are demanding improvements before getting resources.”
The Council for the Protection of Rural England’s (CPRE) head of planning Henry Oliver backed the changes.
He said: “The government appears to have listened to the record level of public concern about the Planning Green Paper and the subsequent damning Select Committee Report. There are some very welcome changes.”
But he added: “These do not, however, disguise the fact that some of the proposals which remain could do serious damage to good planning, public confidence in decisions and protection of the beauty and tranquillity of the English countryside.
The CPRE criticised the government’s commitment to push through proposals to abolish county structure plans and create Business Planning Zones.
It added that the government should also raise its brownfield housing target to at least 75% and set a new target for at least 85% of commercial development to be built on brownfield land.
EGi News 18/07/02
