Stamford Hill Neighbourhood Forum is bidding for powers to approve major extensions to lofts and to build over gardens.
The forum wants to use the government’s Big Society policy of handing planning controls to local communities. The forum includes the devout ultra-orthodox Jewish Haredim community that wants more space for families and religious schools. But a rival group, Hackney Planning Watch, has launched a parallel bid for power over the same streets to prevent “any one group from imposing its will”. The Guardian says more than 330 local areas across England are in the process of applying for similar powers to permit development without the need for planning applications.
09/03/13 Guardian 20-21
